Silver Sidewinder
by asSweetAsSwirlix
Summary: (Fantasy AU) In a world where two countries are at odds with each other, a young Takano is abandoned by his mother and left in the care of Onodera Ritsu. Takano finds a coin near his new village that causes some changes in his psyche. So, to further understand himself, he must follow a stranger from the rival country, but doing so would force him to leave a certain brunet behind.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: Hello, readers! This is asSweetAsSwirlix. After reading through many stories in this fandom, I decided that it was time for me to contribute as well! I will warn you all ahead of time that this story will start off to be very confusing with all the different names of the places I made up. Also, the specifics regarding the tension between the two countries in this story will be discussed in more detail later. If you have questions please let me know. Next chapter will be up in a couple of days.**

**Rated T for language and disturbing imagery.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.**

Prologue

Takano Masamune stared down at his feet in front of him as his mother and step-father spoke in hushed tones with the young man in front of them. All four were situated in front of a rather miniscule house which was obviously the stranger's domain. Neither his mom nor his step-father spared a glance at him as to not alert him of what was in store; however, despite being an eight-year-old, he knew exactly what was going on. His mother recently got married to a foreign man and was going to go live with him in his country of origin, Listriv, and the child was not invited to come along.

Takano and his mother were born and raised in Heliconis which is to the north of Listriv. These two nations make up a continent on the world called Glyphdeyn. Although these two countries border each other, their political and cultural ideologies clash. Heliconis is a nation that is ruled by a republic and is striving in the technology department. While Listriv is run by a monarchy and is home to magic users. This difference creates a rift between these countries in which they disagree on many issues.

Takano gathered the coat he was wearing around him tighter. Takano was being abandoned in a small village named Viburm that was to the very north of Heliconis. This, and the fact that it was winter, gave him little comfort in his thin garment. Suddenly, the promise of warmth inside the stranger's home was enticing.

His mother turned to him and crouched down so that she was eye level with her son. "This is where you'll be staying from now on, Masamune, and this is who will be taking care of you." She motioned to the man she was talking to a second earlier. "His name is Onodera Ritsu."

He knew this was coming, but he couldn't stop the rivers of liquid sorrow from flowing down his cheeks. He huffed, and his breathe turned into a little cloud in front of his face. "Mommy, why can't I come with you?"

At this, Takano's step-father rolled his eyes and sighed as if he was impatient. Not wanting to anger her husband any longer, Takano's mom gave her son a brief pat on the head and brought him closer to Onodera Ritsu. The young man gave Takano a very sweet smile which eased him immensely, but it wasn't enough to stop him from crying. There, she let go of her son and said, "Now promise me you'll listen to him and stay in this house." She motioned towards the tiny building with a look of disdain painted on her face.

Takano said nothing. He just stood there sobbing in front of her. She knew her husband did not like to be kept waiting, so she turned her back to her hiccupping eight-year-old, "Good-bye, Masamune." She said over her shoulder. All the child could do was stare at her retreating form in disbelief.

* * *

Once Takano calmed down, the brown-haired man took him inside his house and sat him on a padded velvet chair next to his electric fireplace.

"I'm sorry about all this. You must miss your mom. I'll try to treat you just as well as she did. And you're probably really uncomfortable here too." Onodera picked up a nearby pillow that matched the velvet chair, fluffed it up, and handed it to Takano.

Takano said nothing. He just stared at the fireplace and thought about what just transpired. It was a lot to take in.

The older one took his silence as that he wanted to be left alone. "Umm… Okay, how about I make you something to eat. What would you like?" Takano made no indication that he had heard him so Onodera took that as a cue to continue. "Not comfortable talking to me? I guess it's alright for now, but you'll be expected to talk to your teacher when you start school tomorrow." Onodera decided that he would leave it at that, and he then walked out to leave Takano by himself.

The child placed his hands over his eyes that burned from the tears. He knew that he should be grateful towards Onodera for taking care of him, but he knew the older man couldn't be happy like this. He must have thought of him as a burden. Moreover, if he could figure out the way toward Listriv, he could eventually come across his mom; if he is persistent then she would eventually have to continue to take care of him.

Takano Masamune wasn't even in his new home for an hour, and he resigned to the fact that he was going to escape the place somehow.

* * *

It was bright when Takano left his school the next day, but slowly the night was coloring the day. He walked for about two hours, and as he did he felt the wind chilling him to the bone through his light jacket. It was dark now and the already cold air dropped down to a deadly temperature. Takano started regretting his choice to leave, but that was a fleeting thought when he noticed something shiny that was underneath a patch of dead shrubbery next to the road. Whatever was on the ground was reflecting the light from the moons that had recently risen that night. Glyphdeyn had three moons in total that were rotating around it, but two of the moons were visible and giving off an ethereal glow.

Takano ran up to the mysterious object and held it in his small hands. The slab of silver metal was chipped and was dirtied all around. It was decorated with two serpents intertwined in the center. Takano would guess that it fell from a foreigner's pocket since it was written in a language that he did not recognize. However, the longer Takano stared at the coin, he found that he was able to actually read it.

_'Find the strength for protection through sage thoughts.'_

Takano thought about the feelings the print enticed in him, however, he felt a headache brewing. He put a hand to his head, and it felt like it exploded from a loud shout. "Hey! Kid!" At the sound of Onodera's voice, Takano swiftly concealed the coin in his pocket before standing up to look him straight in the eye. "Why are you all the way out here?"

The boy could not focus on what Onodera was saying. He placed a hand on his head, and his knees gave out. His face would have met dirt, but the older one was quick in catching him. Takano just hung limply in his arms. The brunet knew that he was terrible in dealing with children, but the boy's mother entrusted her son to him. No matter what, he wouldn't give up in retrieving Takano's trust. But for now, he knew that it was time to get out of the bitter cold. He gave the younger one a piggy-back, and started the two hour journey back home.

Takano was in and out of consciousness as the man carried him away. He couldn't believe that the young man came all this way to find him. He knew that if it were his mother, she probably wouldn't even look for him like Onodera did. The man who'd known him for a little over a day cared for him more than his own mother had. Takano gulped at this realization. The least that he could do was trust this stranger to take care of him. He then rested his head on Onodera's shoulder as sleep overtook his small body.


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hey, guys! I got a new chapter coming your way! Sorry for the delay. Especially after that boring prologue. I'd like to especially thank all who have favorited and followed this story as well. I appreciate it! Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.**

Chapter 1

_Takano opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. He was in his room at his mother's house. His bed was in the center of the room sandwiched between two wooden bedside tables. He was lying down in his bed in a stiff position, arms to his side and legs straight. He looked to the side and reached out for the lamp sitting on one of the tables, however, he found that his arm would not move from its rigid formation. He struggled until he heard a creak coming from the closet on the right-hand wall. It opened, remained ajar, and showcased a column of black from the closet's dark interior. Takano held his breath as a sleek snake slithered its way out of the closest, but instead of sneaking on the floor it somehow defied the laws of gravity and favored slithering on the ceiling. It moved sideways with its body in an S-shape._

_"What the fuck?" Takano enunciated each word. The serpent kept his hungry eyes on the trapped one, and when it reached the center of the ceiling it hesitated. The black-haired male and the serpent shared an intense stare down._

_When Takano blinked, the snake lunged at his face with intent to maim it._

Takano woke up with a jolt while he held his face. He locked eyes with Onodera who was next to him holding a broom. "Ah, finally. You're awake. You take so long to wake up dammit!" Onodera twirled the broom in his hands.

"Did you hit me with that?" Takano narrowed his eyes.

"I was about to, but you just woke up before I could do so." The brunet gave him a look of sympathy, "Did you have another nightmare?"

Takano sighed. He hated to admit it, but he's been having the nightmares ever since he started living with Onodera eight years ago. He divulged this information to the older man, and he's been bothering him with it ever since. It always had to do with a snake and him being trapped of sorts. "Yeah, but there's no need to worry about it." He then proceeded to roll around in bed and cover his head with his blanket.

"Oh no you don't, Masamune!" Onodera grabbed his blanket and pulled it off of his face. "You're sixteen! You better start acting like it!" Onodera took a glance at the clock hanging on the wall. "Get up! You're going to be late to school!"

"Big deal," the black-haired boy murmured incomprehensively.

The older one somehow managed to decipher the mumblings the younger one offered him. "Yes. I agree. It is a big deal. Now get your ass out of bed before I kick it out."

Onodera dragged Takano out of bed and shoved him into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. Takano laughed softly to himself. '_He really does take these things too seriously.'_

Ever since he started living with the twenty-six year old, Onodera has never ceased to rain down his hysteric protectiveness on him whenever he did something a bit out of the norm. His reactions to the littlest things gives Takano a little excitement every time. So much so that he felt the need to monopolize every waking thought of the brunet's at times.

As he brushed his teeth, his mind wandered to the green-eyed man. He never divulged Takano of what his childhood was like, but he knew that the man went to school in Listriv and that he studied magic and language. Takano would assume that meant he was from there, but he was never given any type of confirmation. Those years in school gave him the ability to read every single written language and as Onodera put it: "Even the dead ones." With that, Onodera was able to get a job in Viburm's government building to translate ancient texts.

Takano placed his hand in his pocket and traced the circumference of the silver coin with his thumb. He'd thought about asking the brunet if it really meant what he thought it did, but he never got around to showing it to him. Not to mention that the older one would no doubt ask him millions of questions about it.

If there was something Onodera was good at it was overreacting.

* * *

After Takano finished his bathroom duties, Onodera hastily pushed him out of the house muttering: "He's going to be late," and "This is the worst that could happen," over and over again mostly to himself.

Takano sauntered out and walked across the village towards his school. When he was halfway there, however, a tall man who looked to be about Onodera's age stood in front of him, effectively blocking his path to his destination. Takano glared at the man in his way, "Can I help you?"

"Are you Takano Masamune?" the man asked with a heavy accent.

Takano was irritated. "Yes. Can you move out of the way? I'm kind of in a hurry."

The man reached out his hand. "Good morning, young man. My name is Haitani Shin."

Takano looked at the outstretched hand, but didn't make any movements to return the sentiment. "That's nice, but I'm really late for something now." Takano tried to move around the strange man, but Haitani grabbed his arm and kept him in place.

"Please just give me five minutes."

Takano checked his watch and figured that since he was already late, it wouldn't matter if he took a bit longer. Takano stared at the man and acquiesced.

"This is kind of a complicated situation. Actually, if you couldn't tell, I'm not from around here. I'm from the capital city of Listriv, Callia. I was given the duty of retrieving you from this village and presenting you to King Isaka back in my home."

Takano wore his dead unsurprised expression on his face, "So, you're going to kidnap me."

The tall man released the sixteen-year-old's arm. "No. Well, I hope it doesn't resort to that. But I believe you will give me your consent."

"Sorry. But I'm not interested." Takano turned to walk away, but failed when Haitani spun him back around.

"You don't believe me do you? I'll prove to you that I'm from Listriv then." Takano didn't need to be convinced that the man is from down south, his accent was a dead giveaway, but he decided to be entertained by Haitani's attempts to sway him. The older man placed his fist in front of his face and closed his eyes. A moment later a ball of fire gathered around his hand; he then extended his arm and punched toward a nearby dead shrub, effectively setting it on fire.

Takano was in awe, but it didn't reassure him of anything.

Sensing that he was starting to win over the young man, Haitani said, "I am who I claim to be. Tell me, is there something about yourself that you are unsure of?"

The black-haired boy snapped his head toward him, away from the lit shrub. "What do you know about me?" He said hotly.

"Nothing. But my king definitely knows a lot about you."

The younger man was falling for the bait. To have meaning beyond a simple boy who was abandoned by his mother, and then taken care of by an overexcited man. To have someone as well-known as the king of a foreign country to know his name definitely meant something.

Haitani waited for an answer, but knew he wouldn't get one. "I'll be waiting here after dark tomorrow. If you are serious about joining me back to my home, then bring yourself, the clothes on your back, but nothing more. And make sure you don't tell anyone." He then spun on his heel and left.

Takano stood there dumbfounded. Leaving this place would be a new beginning to a new life, but that would also mean that he would leave a certain twenty-six-year-old in his house all alone with no explanation as to why he left. It seemed so cruel to treat the one who has cared for him the past eight years that way. He shook his head and continued his journey toward the scholarly establishment.

* * *

After school, Takano walked in a daze back home to where he was met by the divine smell of Onodera's cooking. The brunet looked over his shoulder to the entrance that recently opened. "Welcome back, Masamune. What's wrong? You seem more out of it than usual."

"Huh? Oh. I just wasn't expecting you to come home early today," he offered the lie lamely.

Onodera turned his head back toward the stove in front of him. "I'm going to be working overtime tomorrow so I decided to come home early today to make you dinner. You can have it tomorrow too when I'm not here."

'_Working overtime, eh? Everything seems to be working in my favor.'_ The black-haired boy walked up to the stove next to Onodera. "So, what are you making?"

"Rice and lentils," Onodera smiled. Rice and lentils were widely used in Heliconi cuisine, therefore, Onodera was a master at cooking it.

"Great." Takano turned and sat at the small table behind the kitchen counter. After Onodera put the lid on the pot holding the lentils he sat down on the free chair that was opposite Takano and facing him.

Takano's depressing behavior did not go unnoticed by Onodera's keen eyes. "Are you really that upset about me coming early? Just tell me what's bugging you already."

The younger man knew that he couldn't escape unless he gave a valid excuse. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the enigmatic coin that he's been concealing from the brunet for years. "Well, I found this on the floor earlier today when I was walking to school. I was just thinking of what it could mean."

"Give it here." Takano placed the silver coin carefully in Onodera's hand; he held the coin in the center of his palm and regarded it carefully. "Hmm, this looks very similar to ancient Listrivian." Onodera tilted his head toward the ceiling as if the answer was up there. Then he looked back to the coin. "'Think hard in order to guard yourself'… something along those lines."

"Well, that is what it is saying essentially," the sixteen-year-old whispered.

"What's that?"

"Oh, nothing." Now that he was certain that he could read it, his choice was certain; he had to leave with Haitani to learn more about himself. Onodera reached over to hand the coin back, but Takano refused.

_'Now you have something to remember me by.' _Takano thought bitterly.

"Masamune, I hope you didn't steal this from someone." Onodera said sternly. After seeing Takano's face, however, he knew that it was time to shut the hell up. He then rose from the table and went to tend to his lentils.

The younger man forced a smile on his face to have a pleasant last dinner with Onodera. They chatted, ate, and then excused themselves to their separate rooms where Takano spent the whole night staring up at his ceiling instead of sleeping. He wondered if a snake was going to jump out of it and bite his face off or if his venom was already seeping through his veins.

* * *

The next morning, much to Onodera's surprise, Takano was actually up and ready in time for his school to start. "Well! Look who's up on time for once?" He said happily not noticing how out of place it was.

"Well, I figured it's time to change a couple of things." As the sixteen-year-old said this he didn't dare to look at the brunet's face.

"Great! Have your breakfast and get ready for school." Onodera pulled Takano's coat from the closet.

"Ritsu," Takano said softly.

Onodera was taken aback by the sudden use of his first name from the younger one. "Yes?"

"Thank you. For everything."

"No problem. I do this for you every morning. Or when you mean a 'couple of things' that includes being grateful," the brunet joked.

"Yes. It does." This time, Takano glued his hazel eyes to Onodera's green ones to show how serious he meant his words. This caught Onodera even more off guard.

Not knowing how to respond, the older man stuttered a bit before replying. "I-I see... Well, work hard at school today!"

Takano proceeded to eat his breakfast painfully slow since he didn't have much of an appetite. Once he finished he left his house for the last time.

* * *

Onodera checked his watch for the fifth time that night to check how much time he had left before reuniting with Takano.

"Heh, eager to return home are you?" Onodera looked up to see his baby-faced coworker, Kisa, standing right in front of him. At this point he wasn't bothered by Kisa's close proximity since the short man does it all the time.

"Of course. I can't help but worry." Onodera confessed.

"Ricchan, that's so like you!" Kisa put his arm around his shoulders and swayed from side to side. "What's the worst that kid can do? Knock-up a couple of girls? You have nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, but if he does end up doing that I don't know what we would do. He's too young for that responsibility. He would have to drop-out of school and forget about all of his aspirations. And-," he was cut off by Kisa smacking him on the head.

"Just calm down, Ricchan! Nothing like that would happen as a result!" Kisa put both of his hands on Onodera's shoulders and shook him slightly.

Onodera pouted and sighed, "You're right."

Both men looked up in surprise toward the door that recently opened and noticed the courier walk in. "Onodera Ritsu, I have an urgent message for you." The woman stated simply and fished in her bag for the letter. When she grasped it she handed it to him.

"An urgent message?" Onodera accepted the envelope with both hands.

After the woman finished her job, she spun on her heel and proceeded to walk out.

"Wait!" Kisa yelled at the retreating form of the woman. "You don't have one for me?" The courier slowly shook her head, and Kisa gave a broken, dejected look. He then turned his head toward his coworker and friend who was reading his 'urgent' letter with forever growing plate sized eyes. "What's up with you?" Kisa asked, but before he received an answer Onodera pushed him out of his way and bolted for the entrance, all the while, forgetting his jacket.

"Hmm…" Kisa analyzed the situation, and then concluded that it probably has to do with a certain black-haired boy since the only time Onodera runs out like that is when he's in mother bear mode. He shrugged and tried to cover for his friend's work as well as his own.

* * *

Haitani leaned against the wall of the clothing shop building in the middle square of Viburm where he waited for Takano Masamune to arrive. He originally leaned against the wall of the blacksmith's shop, but the owner was very vocal about him doing so; instead, he settled for the building next door. He scanned the area carefully, trying to catch a certain young man. When he spotted him, he sauntered towards him casually. "I knew you'd come. Are you ready to go?"

"I never will be. We should leave now before I change my mind." Takano never made eye contact with Haitani.

Haitani nodded, and both of them walked toward the entrance of the village until they heard a loud shout. "Wait!"

Both men turned to witness a brunet sprint down the walkway toward them. Once Onodera reached them he turned to Takano and gave him a tight slap.

Haitani grabbed the green-eyed man's collar, surrounded his fist with some fire, and then proceeded to shove his newly conjured flame fist into Onodera's face. However, before he could burn his flesh Takano grabbed his arm. "It's okay. Don't hurt him," Takano said calmly, however, he was anything but that.

"What the hell? I told you not to tell anyone!" Haitani was indignant.

"I didn't." He turned to the shorter man, "Onodera, how did you find out?"

"That doesn't matter. What does matter is that you had the nerve to leave with this man without telling me anything." This was probably Takano's first time seeing Onodera this angry.

"I don't need your approval on everything. I'm old enough to make my own decisions," he replied.

Onodera furrowed his eyebrows. "How stupid are you, Masamune? You're leaving with a complete stranger! How can you trust him?"

"My mother trusted you, didn't she?" Takano uttered those words with so much venom with intent to inflict the most pain. From the look on Onodera's face, it seemed to have worked. His face dropped and he slouched his shoulders in a defeated manner.

"That's… different," he said with a small voice.

"It's not, and you know it."

"I see. So, I can't change your mind." Takano made no movement and that confirmed Onodera's suspicions. He dropped his head, but then rose it moments later with an expression of great conviction. "Then allow me to join you."

"Huh? You do realize that the journey is going to be extremely dangerous right?" Haitani asked.

The brunet straightened his posture. "I understand. That's why I request that we stop by my house first so I can get my father's sword."

"Wait. You can fight? With a sword?" Takano said in disbelief. Onodera told him that he studied magic, so learning about Onodera's ability came as a surprise to him.

"Yes, of course. I used to live in Listriv remember? That place is overrun with monsters and such. I needed to defend myself at times. My dad was an amazing swordsman; I learned from him," Onodera said happily. He then turned to return back to his home with Takano and Haitani in tow.

Haitani noticed Takano's expression, but mistook it for one of worry instead of shock. "It's not as bad as he's making it sound. I promise you. He's just trying to deter your decision."

"Is it really okay to bring him along?"

"I'd rather not, but I don't see any harm. But, if he does try to pull a quick one I won't hesitate to kick him to the curb. If you know what I mean!" Haitani poked Takano's side with his elbow.

Takano knew what he meant, but he really didn't want to bring Onodera into the upcoming trouble. The trio continued their way to their destination with the knowledge that their journey had just begun.


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Man, was this a rough chapter to write. It just took forever! But, Visitor told me to keep going, so I shall keep going with this story. And I'd love to hear from the rest of you reading this story! I want to know what you guys think of it! Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.**

Chapter 2

The trio left the small freezing village, and they continued their way south toward Listriv. Soon after leaving the premises of Viburm, the three men were surrounded by a barren forest. The trees stabbed the air with daggers of wood, and they were adorned with a dress of freshly fallen snow.

As per Haitani's orders, Onodera led the way while Takano and Haitani stood side by side in the rear. The group had been walking without incident for about half a day, and the lack of conversation increased the awkwardness of the trip triple fold. Onodera looked over his shoulder to ensure that Haitani hadn't run off with the boy, but was greeted with a raised eyebrow from the suspicious man. The brunet narrowed his green eyes at him; all the while he tried to bring up friendly conversation to cover up his apparent caution of the taller man. "At this rate we will reach Poinset in about a day and a half. If we pick up the pace we might not have to camp out at night!"

Haitani snorted. "You mean if we sprint there. There's no way we'd get there without spending a night out here." He motioned toward the thick forest of trees around them. "Why not take our time? Unless someone's afraid of the dark."

The twenty-six-year-old returned his head back to look in front of him, "I'm not afraid. I was just thinking that it would be safer if we reach there as soon as possible. There are many bandits out here you know?"

"Stop trying to be smart. Start to think more reasonably," Haitani said harshly.

Onodera stepped over a tree trunk that was blocking the road and the two behind him followed his example. Finally, the brunet answered, "I've been living up here for the last seven years. I think I would remember how long it would take for us to get to the next town."

The foreign man laughed slightly, "Yeah, well I've been through here about four days ago. I think my resources are more reliable than yours. Wouldn't you agree, Takano?" he posed the question.

"I don't know. Sure," Takano offered the answer without much thought in hopes that he could put an end to the annoying bickering.

Onodera sighed in defeat and the group continued their way in silence again. Takano looked over to Haitani in anticipation of him to comment on his little victory, but was surprised when he noticed him staring intently at some object in front of him. Takano trailed his line of sight straight to Onodera; specifically, a part of Onodera's anatomy. It seemed that Haitani was pleased to have an eyeful of the man's ass, and he was not ashamed of it. He made no attempt to hide it from the youngest one.

Takano trailed the line of sight again to see if he was maybe staring at the brunet's sword which was attached to his hip, but was not surprised when it again trailed to the same spot. Haitani turned to Takano and raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. The black-haired boy wasn't sure if Haitani was showcasing his inclinations to him or if he was just joking. He felt some strange feeling wash over his head when he thought about it more.

This happened with him when he thought about Onodera's coworker too. Kisa was always throwing himself on Onodera, and he was most obviously gay; however, to his knowledge, the man affected wasn't fazed by it at all. It was as if he didn't know what was going on, or he just didn't care.

Takano clenched his fist. He despised it when someone tried to steal that type of adoration which was supposed to be towards him. He knew that he was throwing things out of proportion, but he couldn't stand it if someone tried to take Onodera's attention away from him.

Haitani ceased his flirtatious glances when he noticed that the younger man was not into his joke at all; he seemed rather disgusted by it. He put his hand on the sixteen-year-old's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. When he released it, he kept his eyes on the road instead of the green-eyed man's backside. His intent was to ease Takano, but whether it worked or not would remain a mystery to him.

* * *

"It's pretty dark now. We should camp now," Haitani said softly.

Onodera looked up at the sky. It was quite obvious that it was nighttime, but he still did it to observe the sheer beauty of the country. The blanket of grey that once covered the sky was now a marvelous shade of azure with tiny balls of light sprinkled randomly around the body of it. The sharp branches of the naked trees were not as intimidating under this lighting as it had earlier in the day.

The green-eyed man shook his head and brought himself back to the matter at hand. He thought about rejecting Haitani's offer to camp out in a dangerous forest, but he gave up when he remembered Haitani's past remarks and Takano's agreement with them. "You have a tent?"

"Yup! I don't think it will be big enough for three of us though," Haitani said without a hint of guilt or remorse in his expression; he was clearly implying that the shorter man was to sleep outside.

Said man understood exactly what he was getting across. He turned around and nodded. "Alright. I'll sleep outside. I was not welcome to come along in the first place."

"Now that that's settled, I'll provide the light while you set up the tent."

Onodera crossed his arms across his chest and he narrowed his eyes. "So, I'm not sleeping in it, but I have to set it up?"

"Fine then. You make the light while I do it," Haitani challenged.

Onodera tilted his head up to show his acceptance of the challenge. "My pleasure." He then outstretched his hands in front of him, and a small white glow appeared in front of them as he started shaking.

Haitani stared for a moment and then smirked, "Wow, you really suck at that don't you? On the way you mentioned that you studied some magic in Listriv. How did you manage to pass?" The taller man snickered. Onodera bit the inside of his cheek to hold back a rude reply.

After a few seconds of smiling smugly, Haitani held the same position that Onodera was performing moments prior, and a large ball of light appeared in front of him. It easily dwarfed the brunet's casting of the same spell; all the while, he did not tremble.

"Show off," Onodera said quietly to himself. He then resigned to the fact that he would have to set up the dingy tent. "Masamune, could you hold this up for me for a bit?" the green-eyed man asked, however, he did not receive a reply. "Masamune?" Onodera was growing increasingly worried at the boy's silence.

Haitani looked around when the situation dawned on him, "Where is he?"

As if on cue, both men ran in opposite directions to look for the misplaced boy.

* * *

Takano pried his eyes open. He felt his head pounding from a blow he had endured recently.

'_Where am I? I remember looking at those weird mushrooms. Then what?' _Takano squeezed his eyes shut again in hopes that it would jog his memory.

Takano halted his thoughts when he heard a low scruffy voice. Upon further observation, he realized that it was a man speaking to what he assumed was his partner in crime. Although the lighting was poor, the black-haired boy could make out their outward appearance. Both men were wearing dark trousers and black leather jackets, obviously used to conceal themselves in the dark, and their prolonged presence in the wilderness had dirtied these articles of clothing immensely. "Not sure how much he's worth, but something's better than nothing," he said.

"Yeah, I bet those two guys that were with him are worried sick." The partner gave a slimy laugh, "They'll pay good money for him."

The boy struggled to get up, but he then realized that he was tied up. He glanced down at the ropes and started to exhale short quick breaths in agitation. Takano struggled with all his might against the bindings while he searched around him desperately for the same snake that appeared in his multitudinous nightmares; even though he knew it wasn't real.

Eventually, the noise from the teen's struggling alerted the two bandits. "Hey, looks like he's up again," the first bandit said. He then turned to his partner, "Knock him out again, but make sure you don't kill him. He's worth more alive than dead."

"Yeah, yeah," the second bandit waved his friend to settle down. He then gave a disturbing smile as he approached Takano with a blunt club in his right hand. When he was right in front of him he raised his club to finish his job, but instead he keeled over as the wind was blown out of him by a knee in the stomach.

"Get away from him you bastards," Onodera said with an authoritative tone.

The second bandit got up and held his stomach. "Who the fuck are you?" he gasped out.

The brunet ignored him and blasted a tiny ball of lighting toward the second bandit. Once he was momentarily paralyzed, Onodera unsheathed his sword and cut the man's chest twice with strong strokes of his right arm in an x-shape. He then swiftly outstretched his leg, spun around to gain momentum, and kicked the man right where the two slashes intersected in his midsection.

While this was happening, the first bandit charged at Onodera with an axe which the brunet barely guarded against. The swordsman was shaken by the heavy blow he had just endured and grunted in pain from the shock of the hit. The bandit swung his big axe again, but this time Onodera was prepared. He dodged it and got behind his attacker; he then slit the crook's throat. The man gurgled up blood and choked until he was down for the count.

Takano could do nothing, but continue to stare in disbelief at Onodera's prowess in battle. The older man then turned to Takano to cut off the bindings with his bloodied sword. The hazel-eyed one was still speechless from his fear of being ensnared, that he hesitated to alert Onodera that the second bandit had gotten up to beat him with his club. Onodera followed the boy's terrified gaze behind him and turned around. When he successfully did so, he was greeted with the sight of the bandit speared through the heart with an ice spike. The deceased man fell, revealing the one who made the ice spike.

Haitani gave Onodera a smug smirk, "You owe me."

"Haitani! Thanks for watching my back," Onodera said gratefully. He then turned back to the restrained boy. "Give me a moment while I untie you."

Haitani ran a hand over his face in relief. "Man, you were right next to me, and those two big idiots were still able to take you. I'm sorry. I'll keep my eyes peeled next time."

"You better!" Onodera yelled. "Masamune could have lost his life!"

"Guys, it's alright. It's my fault. I was wandering off," Takano confessed.

Haitani crossed his arms over his chest. "You may say so, but I was to blame as well. Anyway, why don't we go back to our tent?"

Onodera nodded, "I agree. I think we've had one hell of a night already. Let's rest."

* * *

After a night of resting, the trio made their way toward Poinset and were greeted by a magnificent sight. The town was surrounded in a shade of bright peach that was a gradient to a shade of dark blue in the distance beyond the mountains that laid behind the town. It was like a sea that was gradually flooding the shore of a beach.

The moment the three of them arrived inside of Poinset, Haitani announced, "Onodera, I think the shops are still open. Go and restock up on supplies while the kid and I book some rooms in the inn. We'll join you in a few moments."

The brunet looked between the two with clear concern in his eyes. However he didn't want to be booted from their journey so he obeyed Haitani's orders. He turned around and walked briskly into the commercial district of the large town.

Takano turned to Haitani. "Why did you send him off?"

"With how late it is now, I'm afraid that the shops will close. I want to leave first thing in the morning tomorrow, but at the same time, if the inn gets fully booked then we're in trouble."

Takano nodded, and the duo made their way into the inn nearby. The lobby had two staircases on both sides of the area which led to the rooms on the second floor where the customers would spend the night. The check-in table was in the middle of these two staircases. "Two rooms please," Haitani said to the pretty receptionist.

"Two?" Takano whispered to Haitani.

"Yep, one for us, and one for Onodera." Haitani said with a smile on his face. It sounded so simple, but yet the moment those words left Haitani's mouth, Takano knew he didn't want any part of it. He would much rather share a room with Onodera than Haitani.

While Takano went through his inner struggle, the receptionist checked her records of the rooms in the building. "I'm sorry, sir. There's only one room available," the receptionist offered her contrite words with a small frown.

Without hesitation, Haitani replied, "No worries, we'll take it." He then gave her a devilishly handsome smile.

The woman blushed and held the keys in front of her. "Alright. Here's your key. Enjoy your stay."

"Thank you," he said. He then spun on his heel and left the inn dragging Takano along with him by his arm.

Once they left the inn they waited at the entrance of the commercial district to wait for the brunet. After a few minutes, Onodera rendezvoused with them holding three Styrofoam boxes in his arms. "They didn't have much, but I managed to get us some food."

"Yes! I'm starving!" Haitani cheered, and as if on cue, Takano's stomach started to growl.

"Did you guys successfully get a room for us?"

"Yup. But, there's only one room so I'm sorry to say, Onodera you have to sleep outside today." Haitani stared seriously at the pair of green eyes in front of him.

Onodera hesitated for a moment, recalling the terribly cold night he endured earlier, and then he yelled, "What!"

The strained statement echoed throughout the slowly quieting town. Haitani put his hands in front of him defensively. "Hey, calm down. There are two beds in the room so you can just sleep on the second one while I sleep with the kid."

"Absolutely not!" The brunet raised his voice to an uncivilized decibel a second time.

Haitani raised one eyebrow and turned his gaze from the brown-haired man to the black-haired one. When Takano showed no discontent at the offer, Haitani relented. He put his arm around Takano and said sarcastically, "I'm hurt! You don't want to share a bed with me?" Takano groaned and pushed his arm off of him. Haitani regarded him with an intense gaze, but then dropped it soon after, "Ah well. How about we eat, and then we go call it a day."

Onodera looked long and hard at the boy's irritated face and wondered if Takano was regretting that he followed an irritable man like Haitani. However, he knew this was not the time nor the place for being an ass. He shut his trap so that all three of them could have a peaceful night.

* * *

_The front door slammed as Takano Masamune walked out of the small home he shared with a certain brunet. He walked down the road that was draped in dead shrubbery and made his way to the center square of Viburm. No one was in sight when he began to circle the perimeter of the blacksmith's building. When he reached the previously hidden side of the establishment, he was met with a horrid sight. Onodera was on the floor unconscious while a man with his back towards Takano punched him a multitude of times. His face was so swollen and bloodied that he couldn't even open his eyes if he were to be conscious. The attacker's knuckles were scabbed and wounded to the point that it appeared he had been punching the brunet for days._

_Even without seeing the person's face, he could recognize that broad back and short haircut anywhere; this little fact filled his cup of anger to the brim. "Stop!" he commanded as he walked toward him, but after he uttered that word, he soon found himself unable to travel forward. It was as if his legs would not listen to his brain's commands. Haitani was unfazed by his statement he just continued to senselessly beat the man in front of him._

_The boy's eyes grew in horror at premonition of what was to come. He was not surprised when the serpent slithered out from underneath the back of the jacket Haitani was wearing. It seemed as if it came from nowhere being that there was no space for the large snake in Haitani's jacket._

_Takano looked down at the creature that was approaching him in a broken sideways direction and then he returned his gaze to Onodera who was probably on the brink of death; he was unable to stop either situation from being a tragic end. When he looked back at the reptile, it was already centimeters from his face with its large mouth approaching rapidly; its hollow fangs were dripping with venom, and it made contact with Takano's face. His face burned with venom, but he was unable to bring his hands up to dislodge the snake away from him; he was like a statue._

_Almost instantly, his face swelled from the venom into a size that would rival the brunet's. With little time left before his own demise, he let out a barbaric scream._

Brown eyes flung open in a sweaty distress. He was hyperventilating, but was surprised that his ruckus didn't seem to wake his companions. He heard soft snoring from the second bed in the room and automatically deduced that that was Haitani. However, when he turned his head to the other side he was once again surprised at the lack of an Onodera next to him. The light in the bathroom was not on so he concluded that the man must have left the room to roam about outside.

With great care, he swung his legs over the bed and tip-toed to the coat hanger to grab his coat, put on his shoes, and then left silently, leaving Haitani unaware on the other bed. Takano walked down the stairs of the inn and out the front door to see Onodera standing a few feet away staring at the sky.

"Hey," the teen said.

Onodera blinked twice as he was broken out of his reverie. "Masamune? Why are you out here at this time of night?"

Takano laughed slightly, "I could ask you the same thing."

Onodera gave a half-hearted laugh, "Yeah, I guess you could say that." He then tore the gaze to settle his eyes on the sky again. "Look up. All three of them are out today," he said softly as if he was talking to an infant who was dosing off.

The black-haired boy followed his example and realized that Onodera was talking about the three moons in the sky. "Is that the reason why you're out here? To look at the moons?"

Onodera nodded. "When I was younger, my mom and I would always sit out in our yard when all three were visible. We would just watch them and talk." The brunet's eyes became glossy as he recalled the memory. "She always used to tell me a story about them. It was along the lines of how Glyphdeyn was the mother of all the moons. One day, after she fed her children, they had a bet on who could run the fastest." He motioned toward the largest looking moon, "The first child was the slowest." He then pointed toward the smallest looking moon, "And the youngest child was the fastest. However, when they wanted to come back home they were too far from home and they didn't know how to get back. So, now they orbit Glyphdeyn."

Takano narrowed his eyes at the older one's sappy story. "Onodera, your mother told you that story for fun? You must have been a very sheltered child."

"I was not!" Onodera snapped the moment Takano finished his sentence.

Takano crossed his arms across his chest and distributed his weight unevenly on his feet. "Do you always come outside to look at them every time they are out together? It happens every 39 days doesn't it?" Takano recalled from the knowledge he gained at school in Viburm. "That just seems to suck out the excitement of it. Especially since it's always been like that."

The brunet sighed, "Even so, moments like these make me think of my mother. Even if it seems redundant, I often don't want it to end. I don't want these feelings that I have for her to disappear."

Takano never knew anything about Onodera's mother being that he never talks about her, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that they had a very strong bond. A bond that he felt was stolen from him, although he never once experienced it for himself. Takano often wondered if what he shared with Onodera was something akin to what a parent and a child felt for each other, but by the endearing look on Onodera's face, he doubts it. It's no secret now that the Onodera family must have been a tight knit one by that way the son of the family talks so sincerely about the matriarch and the small smile that was spread across his face. Whenever Takano thought about his own mother he was always filled with rage and disgust at how uninterested she was about him.

Takano let out a grunt of frustration, "You stay out here and waste your time as much as you want, but I'm going to bed."

'_And to the horrid dreams that will undoubtedly come,' _he thought miserably.


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** **Special thanks to Guest for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.**

Chapter 3

"Hey! Wake up sleepy head," Haitani said in a sing-song voice. Takano, keeping in character, opened his eyes a crack and closed them soon after. He then turned his head away from the disturbance which irritated Haitani immensely. The foreign man gritted his teeth, but he took a few exhales to calm himself. "Listen. This is the last time I'm going to ask you nicely. Now, please get the fuck up," Haitani stressed the last two vulgar words. In Takano's opinion, it wasn't really a nice way to ask.

The teen decided that angering the older man any further was probably not a good idea, so he kicked off the covers and rolled off the bed. He allowed his eyes to wander around the room for a few seconds and then asked, "Where's Onodera?"

Haitani looked off to the side in disinterest. "I think he's outside. Or maybe he left. Either way I really don't care."

Takano narrowed his eyes. "Well, he did find me when I was captured the other day," the teen defended his brunet companion.

The older man chuckled. "Yeah, only to have me rescue him in the end."

Takano remained sagely silent at this.

_'Wow, he sure has a short temper,'_ Takano thought.

After the boy was properly dressed, the duo met up with the missing member of the group who was waiting outside of the inn right where Takano left him last night. The black-haired boy wondered if the man was standing there the whole night, but he thought it best to not ask.

Haitani sighed, "Well, let's make our way toward the border then."

Onodera's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? That's so far from here. Shouldn't we stop by at the next town over?"

"No. That'll take too long." Haitani gave a devious smile. "And as far as I know, the shortest distance to a destination is a straight line."

"Yeah, but we'll get tired along the way," Onodera protested.

"We'll be fine. If you're worried about your stamina, you can stay behind." Haitani paused to let the statement register for the ones receiving it. "I encourage it actually," he added shortly after, wanting to pour more salt on the wound.

Onodera looked to Takano and visibly calculated his priorities. He blinked twice, sighed, and slumped over in one swift motion. The brunet walked dejectedly towards the southern exit which led to the border; all the while he kept his wilted posture.

Takano exhaled a breath he didn't realize he was holding; he was very happy that Onodera was coming along, but it didn't take a genius to know that the two older men would fall into another argument. It seemed that the only way for them to communicate was through arguing like a senile couple.

The teen sighed again at the realization that he would have to hear so much more of it before they reach their destination. He remembered the map of the world that was always displayed in the front of his geography classroom, and knowing that they had quite a long ways to go made him want to rip off his ears before they become subject to the annoying squabbling that was to come.

Takano almost gave out yet another sigh, but this time he clamped his mouth shut before finishing his stress-relieving breath. He caught up with Onodera at the exit while Haitani walked right behind the boy.

_'As long as I get the answers I need, all of this will be worth it,'_ he thought.

* * *

Takano felt his feet going numb and his knees giving out, however, he willed himself to go forward. He didn't even know how long they've been walking; it felt like weeks, but he knew it couldn't have been that long.

The journey from Poinset to the point they were now consisted primarily of them walking next to the foot of the mountains that laid behind the town; the rough terrain was tough on all of them, however, none of them were willing to tell the other two that he was feeling tired.

After a few more moments, Takano finally broke the silence, "Hey, how much farther is it?"

Haitani thought for a moment. "I'm not exactly sure. The geography of Heliconis was never my strong point," he said remorsefully.

When the foreign man failed to offer a valid answer, Onodera took up the responsibility of giving one. "That fork in the road we passed a few minutes ago said that Stanotis was the other direction. That city is close to the border. If we travel for about two more days we will get to Listriv."

Haitani laughed, "And you were upset of taking this route! We've saved about a week by going this way!"

The brunet said nothing. He just stayed silent and crossed his arms across his chest.

The silence grew indefinitely until a rumble broke them out of their disjointed thoughts. "Well well, looks like someone's hungr-," Haitani was cut off in the middle of his sentence by the sound of his own stomach rumbling. He laughed nervously. "Yeah, why don't we go hunting for now?"

Onodera nodded and then he settled his eyes on the high rocks that were jutting out of the grass bedded earth underneath their feet. He listened intently for footsteps, and he then crouched down and started to sneak up some of the nearby rocks that led up the mountain. Haitani and Takano looked at each other, shrugged, and then followed his lead while crouching as well.

Eventually, Onodera led the other two next to a large tower of rock and gazed at something that was behind the thick stone slab. Takano got right behind Onodera and saw what he had his eyes on. It was a small animal of sorts. "See that?" the brunet whispered, "that's a goat. Many of them live around rock sculptures, much like the one we are on now. Its meat is very tasty, however, it can't be preserved for long."

The sixteen-year-old gazed at the beast in wonderment. "Oh. I've never seen one before."

"They are only in this part of Heliconis. In Viburm, where we lived, it's too cold for them."

Takano looked over his other shoulder to see Haitani looking at the goat lustfully; he must have been salivating at the sight of it. When Takano turned back Onodera had already begun his assault on the defenseless animal. He unsheathed his sword and stabbed the goat's neck swiftly before its little legs could scurry off.

Onodera turned to the other two men and gave a triumphant smile. Then they all hopped down the mountainous bed of rock and inspected their miniscule dinner thoroughly, however, all three were broken out of their trances when they heard a low growl coming from behind a nearby rock behind Onodera.

The brunet turned around just in time to see a large clawed paw drop down on him. He dodged to the side before he was injured; he thanked his quick reflexes briefly.

Meanwhile, Haitani didn't waste any time to push Takano back behind a pointed wall of stone. He then shot chains of lightning from his hands and into the shoulder of the predator. Even through all of this, the bear didn't let up on her assault on Onodera. Although, the swordsman was quick, the female was much faster and stronger. She bit into his right arm that was holding his sword, and he dropped it instantly. She then proceeded to slash his chest with her claws. The green-eyed man grunted in pain as he fell to his hands and knees while blood gushed out of his wounds.

Haitani kept wailing on the distracted bear with his lightning magic, and eventually, she was too weak to continue her attack on the wounded male.

The shorter man picked up his sword with his uninjured arm and stabbed the bear repeatedly until she died. He caught his breath briefly as he clutched his chest and stared down at his clothes that were bloodied by the bear's and his own blood. He sighed deeply but when he looked at Haitani he noticed the taller man's battle stance and followed his gaze towards multiple pairs of eyes and foaming teeth.

Haitani grunted with frustration at the horde of dark wolves, "Why are there so many?"

"We'll take care of them together. I'll watch your back."

"Yeah right. With one useful arm and you bleeding out," Haitani said sarcastically. He then turned to the closest wolf and lunged at it while he threw newly conjured spikes of ice into the mammal's body which killed it almost instantly.

Onodera spotted a wolf in Haitani's blind spot which had the intention of biting into the unsuspecting man's flesh. The wounded man scrambled his injured body to Haitani's back as he tried to protect the magic user. However, Haitani foresaw the attack from the wolf as well; he turned around punched it in the head. He then locked eyes with Onodera who was behind him.

"I got your back. Just let me help you," Onodera pleaded with the tall man.

Haitani said nothing, but he was clearly irritated. He punched the wolf again and then turned around and took two large strides toward the last wolf as he concentrated to conjure a large fireball between his hands. All the while, the wolf he was punching previously punching bolted up to him when it recovered.

"I'll take care of that one!" Onodera gathered his strength to end the creature, but Haitani already turned around and threw the fire into the wolf's face, effectively forgetting the last wolf behind him whom the fireball was initially for. Angry teeth sank deep in the man's calf as he howled. The wolf clawed and continued biting while Haitani futilely tried to pry the mammal's teeth off of him. Eventually, Onodera caught up and stabbed the wolf's back.

Both men panted and looked at each other with expressionless faces while they stood among the aftermath of the bloody battle they'd just endured.

After a few moments of silence, Takano craned his neck to look around the large boulder he was hiding behind. Upon seeing his visibly weary elders, he jogged to their sides. The teen said nothing to them; he could only stare at the wounds in disbelief. He's never seen Onodera in a worse state than what he was now, and it caught him off guard seeing his caretaker in this condition.

The brunet snapped right after Takano caught up to them, "Why didn't you allow me to help you just now? You could've come out of that battle uninjured." Onodera motioned to Haitani's mangled leg.

The man scoffed. "You think you could've helped me? Look at yourself. I probably would been half eaten if I waited for you."

"Shut up. You know my capabilities." Onodera looked at him accusingly. "What? Did you think I was going to stab you in the back if you let your guard down around me?"

"I wouldn't exactly be surprised if that happened. I know you hate me," Haitani shot back as he took a step closer to the shorter man.

Takano got between the bloody ones and shoved them away from each other. "Hey, can't this wait? You guys are hurt. You need to rest and get stitches or something."

"Ah, I could cast a healing spell, but I'm drained from that last fight," Haitani sighed. He then looked to Onodera with an amused smile. "Hey, you know magic. Why don't you heal us right up?"

Onodera knew where this was going, but nonetheless, he placed his unscathed hand above his chest and a faint glow emitted from the bottom of his palm. All the while, Haitani's smile was growing until he burst out into a full bout of laughter.

Through the pits of his amusement, Haitani managed to say, "We're going to be out here all night if you're going to heal us with that!"

Onodera frowned. "What do you suggest then?"

At the brunet's quiet inquiry, the taller man ceased his laughing suddenly. "Well, it'd only take a few minutes for me to heal both of us up, but I need to relax for some time."

"I don't suppose you want us to stay out here." Onodera raised an eyebrow.

"Why? What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that we go to Stanotis to rest. It's not that far, and it'd be a lot safer than out here."

Haitani observed the man in front of him carefully before he acquiesced. "Alright. But someone needs to help me walk there."

All three men retraced their steps as Onodera held the dead goat, while Haitani propped one arm around Takano's strong shoulders for support as they made their way towards the city they intentionally passed earlier.

* * *

All three men stepped simultaneously into the city expecting a mass of people, but they were greeted with absolute silence. Takano scanned the area briefly. The houses visible from his viewpoint all had broken windows while the overall exterior of the houses looked absolutely horrible. Some doors were missing handles while the sides of the buildings had indentations showing the abuse they went through previously; they must have been bashed in.

"Well, this looks terrible," Haitani said in annoyance. "The owners didn't even take care of their own houses. That's so cynical."

Onodera rolled his eyes, "This city is deserted. Obviously, some thieves would have thought to break into the places and steal whatever they could find, leaving what you see here."

"Ah, so you propose that we stay in one of these little houses that could have a mine buried inside, or who knows what else, just so we can blow up into fucking pieces." Haitani's calm voice did not match the vulgar statement. "We're better off just resting outside in the tent. At least no one's been sneaking in that!"

"Did you forget about that bear that nearly killed me? Or that wolf that almost bit your leg off? If more come around we'd be-"

"What about those big houses further into the city? They don't look broken from here." Takano cut off Onodera.

Being shorter than the other two, the brunet had to go on his tip toes for a better vantage point to see what the teen was talking about. He squinted and said, "Those are the high class section of the city. It's completely locked from the outside world. I don't think even a rat could get in."

"Why didn't they use the same precautions in these houses?" Takano asked.

"Only the well-off people would be able to afford something like that." Onodera offered the obvious answer simply.

"This looks like it's been like this for years. If they don't come back why would they go through the trouble in closing it off?"

"Back then they must have had some hope that they would come back eventually. They wanted to have something to come back to."

"You sure know a lot about this place," Haitani piped up.

Onodera turned around and glared at him, "I better. This is my country."

"Ah yes. This barbaric country of yours. Filled with people who are willing to make these buildings and then desecrate them like they mean nothing. You construct new things, but they are just little more than just tools. Just like you Onodera." Haitani locked his brown eyes on Onodera's green ones and smiled evilly; he was visibly excited at his clever insult.

If Onodera was a train, steam would be erupting from him at this moment. He then gave into the challenge. "I think the barbaric ones are those who would follow a materialistic king who doesn't know how to feed his own people and then begs others to do it for him."

"How dare you say that about my king?"

Haitani and Onodera's argument was starting to heat up, and once again Takano had to step in to stop it. He tugged on Haitani's arm that was still draped around his shoulders. "Hey, you need to rest now. How about we just go in one of the houses? I think the people who broke into them are gone, and there is probably nothing left of value for them to steal so they won't be back."

"You know, you have a point," Haitani said and put a finger on his chin.

Takano then dragged Haitani to a nearby house with its door still intact and pushed both of them through it. The house was indeed empty; it was plucked clean of any object that resembled furnishing of some sort. The walls appeared to have holes in them as if someone punched them in, and the stains on the blue wallpaper were most likely urine.

The teen led the way from the entrance and into what should have been the dining room. He sat Haitani down next to one wall and when Onodera came in, he headed straight to the kitchen to cook the goat; however, he was overcome with dismay when he realized that even the kitchen appliances were stolen.

The foreign man sensed Onodera's distress. "You know, in my 'unfed' country we don't cook our food over unreliable machines. We use our hard work and concentration to build our own fire for cooking."

"Just shut up already, you asshole." Even though the brunet said this he realized that the only way to cook the meat was to use Haitani's suggestion. He sighed deeply and walked over to the back door. "I'll be back in a little bit. I need to cook this outside."

Once Onodera left, Haitani turned his attention toward the teenager, and his face was painted with an extremely forced smile. "Wow. I'm such a pain in the ass aren't I?"

The black-haired boy gave Haitani the same dead expression that he usually wears but even so, he was surprised that Haitani would acknowledge how unpleasant he was. He thought that in the older man's weird rational way of thinking he himself wasn't the root of all the arguments.

Haitani sighed, "I've never been that amiable person and that everyone wanted to be around. Even my parents didn't want to be around me."

Takano didn't say anything because he didn't feel any sympathy for Haitani. He knew exactly how he felt, but eventually he stopped being affected by any it. After all, it's all he had felt for his entire life.

Just as quick as Haitani fell into his depressing mood he swung right back and put a sincere smile on his face. "So, kid. We're almost to the border. Excited or what?"

"I couldn't care less." Takano looked out the back door to see smoke arising from the back yard; he could tell it was Onodera by the grand smell of the meat he was cooking.

"Oh, I'm sure once we get there you'll change your mind. It's much livelier than this shithole of a country."

Takano remained silent at that blunt statement. Although Heliconis had a very different lifestyle than Listriv, he still really loved the country, especially his village Viburm where he lived with an incredible man.

"Don't listen to anything Onodera says about Listriv. He's throwing every problem we have out of proportion. Yes, we do have poverty, but every country does you know?"

Takano nodded his head and keep a passive expression.

"Alright, goat's all cooked up and ready to be eaten," Onodera announced as he walked back through the back door with three pieces of the goat pierced through with sticks.

The three of them sat on the floor of the unfurnished dining room in a triangle formation and ate their share of the meat in silence. Once Takano bit into his goat, his face automatically lit up.

Onodera caught this brief moment of excitement that came from the teen. "You like the food, Masamune?" he said with a prideful smile on his face.

"Yeah, I've never had something like this before. It's good."

"What? You've never had meat before?" Haitani asked in surprise.

"Not recently, no." Takano twirled the goat around to find a nice place to bite into it.

"Stop that. I've fed you meat before," Onodera said indignantly.

"No you didn't. Whenever we went shopping you always passed the butcher and went straight to the beans and lentils."

Onodera thought about it what the boy said for a moment. "Well, you never know what they could put in that meat! He could have put some type of drugs in it. I don't know where that food has been. And I certainly won't feed you something that could potentially get you sick."

"Wow," Haitani dragged the word out for a while. "You are way too paranoid."

"Well, it's a good reason!"

Haitani took another bite of his goat before answering. "Why would the butcher want to poison his customers? Wouldn't he lose money then?"

"That's… a good point," Onodera said in the softest voice he could muster. "But, you can never be too sure!" he said quickly after.

Haitani hummed, took the last bite of his goat, and then went to work on healing his leg. He scrunched he eyes in concentration as he casted the spell with great difficulty due to his weariness. When he was done he got up and stretched. "I'm going to check on the rest of the house. There might be something useful here."

"What? You're not going to heal me?" Onodera said in disbelief.

"That'll come after. You need to be patient, you know." The taller man wagged his finger at him as if he were a child. Onodera frowned but let Haitani finish his thorough search.

When he came back he put his hand on Takano's shoulder and said, "Hey, you want to rest? There's a room in on the far side of the hallway up the stairs. Oddly enough it still has a bed in it."

Takano on instinct turned to Onodera and when the older man nodded, Takano raised himself from the floor to show his consent.

Once Takano left the room, Haitani's expression darkened as he approached Onodera to mend his wounds. The injured man noticed this dark expression and tilted his head up. "If you kill me now while I'm hurt, Masamune won't be too forgiving with you," he warned.

"Oh, I know. I would just convince him that you ran off."

Onodera hoped that at this moment Haitani was joking. He then tried to alter the path of the conversation slightly. "Listen, I know you don't like me, and I don't like you. But we have to work together on this or Masamune will end up getting hurt. He's already been assaulted by those lowlifes because of our negligence."

Haitani pressed a hand into his face and sighed. "I have to agree with you on that."

"Not to mention what happened today, we were both pretty injured. If another wolf came around we wouldn't have been able to protect him."

Haitani regarded the man in front of him carefully. "What are you trying to get at?"

"What I mean is that you can hate my guts. I don't care. But, when we're in battle, you have to trust me." Onodera stressed the last few words of his sentence. "If he dies I don't know what I'd do."

After several moments of silence, Haitani finally gave his consent. "Alright. I guess you're right."

The brunet shifted his seated position slightly. "I'm glad we see eye to eye with this."

"Yeah, seems like the first time we've ever agreed on anything."

Onodera laughed slightly as their conversation died down. Both men stared in front of them in silence as if their truce was visible, and they were scrutinizing every piece of it. Haitani then placed his hands on Onodera's chest and arm to begin his healing spell. Both men fell deep into their own thoughts that they failed to notice the pair of teenage ears that were absorbing the words hanging in the air intently.


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Wow... this took a REALLY long time didn't it? I'm so sorry! School just never gives me a break. I wasn't sure if anyone was still reading this story so I held off on it, but I've finally decided to continue on anyway. Enough of that though, enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.**

Chapter 4

Light bleed through the broken window of the room and hit Takano's face with great intensity. The young man pried his eyes open at the light source that felt blinding, but then shut his eyes again soon after. He hadn't realized the window was there before because of the dark that was brewing when Haitani had pointed him toward the room, but now with the sun rising through the window and no saving grace blinds, he knew it was time to get up.

Takano rolled off of the bed and sniffed slightly and then wrinkled his face. In the light of day he could clearly see the urine stains that adorned the mattress; the same ones that decorated the lovely torn wallpaper in the living room. Takano let this little fact bother him for only a second, but he decided not to dwell on it.

The teen walked down the hallway, slightly disoriented, and nearly hit a wall while turning the corner to reach the living room where the older men were sleeping. It was weird being the first one awake for once and he took note of the sleeping positions both men took up. Haitani kept his arm underneath his head to act as a pillow, while he slightly bent his left knee to have his left foot planted on the floor. To Takano, he looked like the epitome of comfort.

He then turned to the other side of the living room to see Onodera using his rolled up jacket as a pillow as he laid on his side, facing the wall. All the while, the man was slightly shivering. Takano stared at the man for a few more moments and then took off his own jacket and placed it over Onodera's shoulders to give him warmth. He reprimanded himself for doing something a lovesick boy would do for his girlfriend, but then he realized that this wouldn't apply to neither him nor Onodera.

After getting up from his crouched position, he spun on his heel and headed out the back door toward the yard outside. When the teen gazed outside he was disappointed with the state of it. The grass was yellowing and patchy, with dry patches of dirt clumped up in random places of the lawn. Next to the door there was a burned pile of wood which must have been where Onodera cooked the goat last night. The only thing pretty about the scenery was the sun rising in the distance, giving off various shades of pink and orange.

He wasn't expecting much given that the yard was not taken care of for years, but he would have liked to think that this house had healthy vegetation similar to the ones at his mother's house. It was the one aspect of his life back then that he missed. He remembered sitting underneath a tree by the back porch of the beautiful home and just reading, falling into a different realm, and wishing that he could be a part of that place instead of the one he was living in.

Lifting his eyes from the ground, the black-haired boy noticed the fence that was at one point guarding the perimeter of the lawn was left in a saddened state of breaking in and falling over in many places of the wooden barricade. Takano jogged over to a gaping hole and peered out; there was a pathway downward into what he assumed was a creek since the plant life along the path seemed much greener than the grass under his feet.

The promise of water was very enticing; much so that Takano dared to venture out on his own without a care to his traveling companions. The boy walked out of the poor wooden enclosure to get a better view and sure enough there was a water source at the end of the path. He walked down the steep path and when he got to the creek, he got down on his hands and knees and drank it with much fervor.

When Takano finally quenched his thirst, he rose, but then soon realized that he wanted to be alone for a bit longer. A place void of any people was refreshing to Takano and he wanted to take advantage of the entire time he was there. He continued walking down the beaten path until it soon turned back into a sidewalk with evidence of abuse. He winced when he felt a jolt of pain at the bottom of his sole. He rose his foot and found the culprit, a rock. Takano regarded the rock with great disdain and then kicked it hard which sent it tumbling down the inclined roads. After giving a grunt of approval, the teen then continued to saunter down the walkway and gazed at the houses branched off of the sidewalk.

"What a shame. This would have been a nice place," he said to himself.

"It was indeed a nice place," a soft voice said behind him. Takano jumped and spun around expecting to see a thief, but mentally slapped himself when he realized it was just Onodera holding the jacket Takano placed on top of him.

"You followed me?" Takano raised an eyebrow. He extended his hand to retrieve the jacket which the twenty-six-year-old handed over.

"No, I just happened to see you walking out here." The older man smiled sweetly and then resumed walking through the residential area of Stanotis. Onodera stopped in at a corner where the sidewalk bent into a sudden 90 degree angle in front of a very old looking house. "There used to be a tall tree over here. Every other year it would grow apples, but whenever some kids tried to take one, the homeowner here would chase them screaming his head off about how they are worse than the scum at the bottom of his toilet seat."

Takano laughed with the brown-haired man but nevertheless he gave him confused stares. "How do you know?" he asked, although he expected the answer before Onodera uttered it.

"I was born here!" the man offered this statement with a very broad smile. After a moment of silence from the teen, the older man continued, "I lived here until I was sixteen, then I went to Listriv to study magic. It was mostly on a whim." Onodera gave out a loud sigh, "But, well, you've seen how bad I am at it… I failed my first year. So I studied language instead; it's easier for people like us, you know?" Onodera chuckled softly.

Onodera continued his personal story again although Takano didn't ask for more information. "I lived there for three years, and in that time this city was completely evacuated; my mother told me all about it in the letters she sent me. So, I went to Viburm instead when I finished my studies."

Takano looked at Onodera's sad face and then asked the question that was bugging him for some time, "Why did they leave in the first place?"

Onodera sighed, "It's complicated, but I'm sure you can handle it."

Takano nodded his head and then gave the brunet his undivided attention.

"Well, you know that Listriv is a monarchy." When Takano nodded in assertion the man continued. "The way of life in Listriv is that everyone follows their king for advice and he calls the shots, no questions asked. In the past this worked great; there were strong leaders who would bring prosperity to the nation and they knew effective ways to help the needy.

"However, the country's recent king is not very strong, and I don't mean physically, I mean in any sense. The previous king was tactful, but it's clear that his son didn't inherit any of that; or, he had no training ahead of time. So, the whole population is blindly following this man who has no idea what he's doing, and eventually the country meets with a famine. The king does nothing while the people affected by the famine starve. When he realizes that something needs to be done about it, he does the only thing he knows how to do; he takes it from someone else. Now, it's no secret to anyone that Heliconis is very well off. This and the fact that they are a bordering nation with Listriv is the incentive that the king needed to ask for some food. But instead of asking for it like a civilized person, he threatened our country, and told them that if they didn't cooperate, they will blast Stanotis off the map. It's closest city to Listriv so that would probably be the reason for that. Anyway, since Heliconi people didn't fully understand the magic that Listriv had; they assumed that they could very well blow them up to smithereens. So out of terror, the people who lived here evacuated immediately."

Takano listened to every piece of information that Onodera fed him, but couldn't help but feel that the information was very biased. "Is that all there is to it? It seems like quite a leap to just threaten someone else."

Onodera crossed his arms across his chest. "From him I wouldn't doubt it. He's just desperate because he doesn't have the brains to take care of his people, and everyone is expectant from him."

"Anyone would panic if the people they were taking care of were going hungry; it's kind of like you when I don't take my lunch to school," Takano added wisely.

Onodera shifted his eyes from Takano back towards the apple tree and gave a piercing gaze that was borderline a glare. "You can think whatever you want to, but if you meet him you'll be very disappointed."

Takano looked into Onodera's fiery eyes, and knew that the man was very upset about this topic. It didn't take a genius to figure that out; he loved this place and now it has gone to shit because of that man. Then he thought back to one little word Onodera said. "'If'?" Takano said softly. "What do you mean by 'if'?"

Onodera gave no response but instead remained sagely silent at his question. "Let's get back. Haitani will have my head if he thinks I kidnapped you or something," he threw over his shoulder as he turned away.

Takano was about to blindly follow him, but he was feeling bold. "No. How about you answer my question that clearly was not answered?"

"I have no obligation to answer your questions." Onodera said with no indication of turning around to look at Takano.

Takano was dumbfounded. Onodera had never acted like this before. Perhaps visiting this place was not good for the older man as it has shifted something within him. Regardless of how Onodera felt, Takano hardly thought that it was a good reason to act hostile towards him. If leaving this place would return Onodera to his usual self, the boy wanted out straight away. Although he was in no mood to follow Onodera's orders, he did anyway; he would be sure to ask the older man about what he said again once they get out of the place.

The pair returned to the house through a series of sidewalks took a much longer time than Takano's method of going through the creek area behind the houses. Once they returned, they were greeted with the face of the beaten in house featuring a very distraught looking Haitani who was crossing his arms over his chest. Once the tall man got sight of them, he walked briskly in their direction. "What the fuck?" he almost snarled through his teeth.

"What?" Onodera sneered back at him.

Haitani kept his furious expression painted on his face. "You know exactly what I mean, bastard. The next time you take him away without my knowledge, your ass will be fried."

"Excuse me, but he wandered off on his own. You should be thankful to me for finding him," Onodera said indignantly.

"Bullshit. Stay away from him for the rest of the trip and I'll spare you this time around." Haitani opened his mouth again to add another batch of remarks, but the annoyed expression on Takano's face stopped him dead in his tracks.

The foreign man pouted slightly but then headed for the entrance of town with the other two males in tow. When they reached there he took his favored spot, behind Onodera and next to Takano in their usual triangular formation, there was no doubt that he was going to keep to this position for the rest of the way; especially after what happened a few minutes prior.

* * *

After a day and a half of walking the group of men reached the border of the two nations, after taking a little detour due to a couple mishaps they finished their journey with ease.

The area was filled with many guards from both nations, and it was quite easy to tell which ones were from which country; the ones with heavy armor and weaponry were from Heliconis, and the ones void of the weaponry were from Listriv.

The border contained a fort that extended left and right as far as the eye can see in order to keep stragglers away from crossing to the other nation without a passport or permission to visit the neighboring country. The stone structure that acted as the divider was a pristine white and various words in Listrivian were painted on different parts of the building.

Takano gazed around the place and took in all that his brown eyes could, everything minus the signs. He couldn't for the life of him understand how to read Listrivian; the letters were so different than the ones used in Heliconi. Takano got annoyed when he was unable to decipher what the words said so he looked ahead of him to see their little group was about to cross the border. He sighed out of relief when he noticed that they were the next in line to pass customs.

"_Next please,"_ the tall guard said in Listrivian with her low voice. Takano guessed that she called them forward since the two older men he was with moved forward.

Haitani passed the woman his identification while Onodera gave her his passport. The woman took these and studied them carefully. She nodded and handed the cards back to the men. She then let her eyes fall towards Takano, "_Where's yours?_"

Takano looked at Onodera and then to Haitani desperately for help since he had no idea what to say to the lady.

"You don't have your passport do you, Kid?" Haitani asked.

Takano gulped, "No, I never needed one."

Haitani sighed he then turned to the guard who had an expecting expression on her face. "_Listen, King Isaka wants to see him as soon as possible. You would have seen in my identification that I work directly under him."_

The tired guard nodded curtly.

"_Well, he gave me special permission to bring him back to the castle. I know you are doing your job and this may be hard to believe, but-"_

Haitani was unable to finish was about to finish, but he was cut off by the woman. "_I believe I was given orders to let this young man pass if he came by. His name is Takano Masamune correct?"_

_"Yes, that is correct,_" Haitani said with a hint of hope present in his voice.

"_Alright," _she then turned to Takano, "_You may pass"_

The woman finally noticed Takano's very confused expression for the first time, although it remained that way for the entire time he stood in front of her. "You may pass," she said to Takano in Heliconi with a very strong accent. It took the black-haired boy many moments to figure out that she was speaking in a language that he could understand. He thanked her and then followed the two older men out of the fort and onto foreign soil.

"So, how far away is the capital from here?" Takano asked. He looked around to find that Listriv seemed to be more colorful than Heliconis. The nearby trees had colorful fruit half of which Takano recognized and half of which he did not. The dense forest next to the road was unlike the ones from back home. They seemed safer and less dark. To say the least, first impressions of the new country did not disappoint in Takano's opinion.

"Not far. Since we are back in my home I know all sorts of short cuts."

Although Haitani hoped to ease the boy's apprehension, it seemed that he was still hesitant on walking the rest of the way like how they traversed Heliconis.

Haitani hummed softly. "You know, since we are in Listriv I technically have more power here, so we could potentially find a different way of traveling."

Takano snapped his head towards the taller man. "Like what?"

Haitani chuckled and then motioned toward the carriage that was parked to the side of the fort waiting to be used by weary travelers like themselves. "It'll be free for us and it'll probably take less than a day to get back to the capital."

Takano kept his stoic expression, but he was leaping with joy inside at the realization that he didn't have to walk anymore.

"Yes. I think we should do that," he said in a monotone expression.

It was easy for Haitani to tell that Takano was excited at this information. He placed his hand on the sixteen-year-old's shoulder, and then turned him to the carriage as they continued toward their destination.


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Here's another chapter for you guys! Finally, right? As an apology, I made this one longer! :) A heads up for this chapter: I use italics to show what Takano is thinking, when people are talking in a different language, AND for the dream sequence later. I tried my best to make it apparent so that you all would be able to distinguish which is which, but if you have questions let me know.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.**

Chapter 5

Takano stared out into the moving canvas of Listriv and thought not for the first time how beautiful the scenery was. The greens of the plant life meshed well with the earthy tones of the mud on the floor. He closed his eyes and sighed out of content. _"This is how traveling should be." _The black-haired boy allowed this lazy thought to linger in his mind for several moments as he drifted off into a blissful sleep.

His breathing slowed and he felt his tense body relax. This, however, didn't last long. The carriage stopped abruptly which jerked Takano forward, almost crashing into Haitani who was sitting across from him.

The mage's brow furrowed and he turned toward the man driving the carriage as well as his horse-like creature that was pulling the carriage. _"Hey! What the hell are you doing?"_

The driver turned around in fear to witness Haitani's rage. _"I'm sorry, sir. But the road toward the capital is closed."_

Haitani poked his head out of the window to confirm the driver's assessment. To his surprise, a barrier consisting of multiple purple tinted hex-shaped blocks was spread from left to right, effectively blocking their path. _"Then find another way," _Haitani said rudely to the elderly man.

_"But – "_

Before he could finish, Haitani cut him off. _"I'm not going to pay you for your incompetence. We need to get there immediately. And when we do get there, I'll be sure that you lose your job."_

_"Calm down, Haitani." _Onodera said sternly to the taller man. Said man turned his glare to Onodera who remained unfazed at how he regarded him. _"There must've been a reason that it's closed. Like an accident of sorts. It's likely this time of year isn't it? Since this is when monsters start to mate."_

The driver nodded briskly, catching on that Onodera was trying to defend him.

Haitani pondered this for a moment. _"Is that so? Fine then. Take us to Maryllis instead."_

The man nodded curtly and wore an expression of tired relief as he redirected his tamed-monster drawn carriage around the detour. He wiped his white eyebrows with the back of his hand. He could only hope that he can keep his job at the end of this trip.

Takano looked around at his surroundings clearly confused. Onodera leaned in and answered his unasked question. "The road to the capital is closed so we are going to stay in a town known as Maryllis for a while until we can reach there safely."

"Oh." Takano gazed at his lap with a dejected look on his face. The brown-haired man reached over and squeezed the boy's knee which enticed a small smile from Takano's lips. This was when he knew that the older man was back to his normal self which eased him tenfold.

Takano gazed out the carriage window and continued to watch the movement until the greens turned into the browns of the fire baked bricks and the soil turned into a stone walkway. He didn't need to be told that they've reached their destination.

The driver removed himself from the front of the car and walked hastily toward the door that housed the three men and opened it politely for them.

Onodera was the first to exit the vehicle. _"Thank you," _he said.

The driver nodded and then turned to Takano who was the next one to exit. He thought it was only polite of him to say thank you so he mimicked what Onodera had just muttered to the man. But when he did, it turned out to be heavily accented followed by a lot of stuttering. Onodera laughed quietly while the elder grew a broad smile at the boy's cute utterance.

That smile was wiped off of his face once Haitani confronted the man wearing a sour expression. Haitani fished into his pocket and grabbed coins without counting any of it. _"Here's the payment."_

_"Th-thank you, sir!" _the man said graciously while bowing low.

Sensing the oldest man's gratitude toward Haitani, Takano could tell that the mage had paid him handsomely even though he didn't understand the currency in this country. Seeing Haitani act mercifully to the man gave Takano an idea of Haitani's true nature. Through his snappy remarks he still had a soft spot for common people it seemed.

Haitani turned toward Takano and Onodera once the man left. "Now, I don't know when the road's going to be open, but I want us to get to the capital as soon as possible."

The brunet of the group didn't like where the conversation was going, but he listened in anyway. "What do you propose?"

Haitani clear his throat and lowered his voice. "Even though the roads are blocked, there must be another way to the capital."

Onodera clicked his tongue in irritation. "Do you even realize what you are saying? You should know the geography of your country. That city is surrounded by mountains. The only way to get there is by the road."

"Yes, I do realize what I'm saying. And I very well know how these cities work," Haitani said with his own growing frustration. He then turned his attention to the black-haired teen with full intention of ignoring the stick in the mud. He smiled as the urge to play tour guide for a while consumed him. "Maryllis and Callia, the capital, are ancient cities here in Listriv. I'm not sure if you're interested, but there are many ruins and catacombs around both cities that date back to that time period. Now, the roads between these two cities were built a couple hundred years ago, but records show that people were living in Callia almost a thousand years ago."

"Is it necessary to give him a history lesson? He learned all of this in school," Onodera stated rudely.

"Shut it, prick. Your school system is so flawed I'd be surprised if he actually learned any of this." His face then softened as he turned back to Takano. "So, what I'm thinking is that there must be a way for us to get to Callia without using the road. Now, this is where Onodera comes in." He glared at the brunet. "There's a famous library here in the center of town; I'm sure you have heard of it." After Onodera nodded slowly, Haitani continued, "There are many ancient texts there, I reckon there's going to be one about a pathway towards Callia as well. You can read ancient Listrivian right? Your job is to find the path and then lead us there."

The brunet began to tap his foot. "That's a good plan. Or we could wait till the roads are cleared up."

"The season just started, and the monsters will be running rampant for the next 3 months. We don't have that time to spare."

Onodera sighed to show his consent and the three of them made their way towards the library. During their short journey, Takano couldn't help but be invested in looking around the town. There were many scholarly looking people, and a handful of them were accompanied by strange creatures. None of them were able to specifically fit into any animal category that was in Heliconis, but they had some features that would imply that they were cousins of the beings found in the neighboring country. Takano shook his head to relieve himself of his amazement and continued to follow the other two males.

Once they reached the establishment, all three of them gazed in awe at the sheer size of the library. It was about 5 stories high with every wall filled with multitudes of books. Between the shelves were wooden tables where people sat to read. The place was brightly lit with magic as well as some candles placed on the tables.

Onodera went to work and began to read through the texts in the ancient civilization section.

* * *

Haitani yawned as he resumed scrutinizing Onodera. It had been about four hours since the brunet had begun searching and it was obvious that he hadn't found anything.

Takano was content staring out the window on the first floor of the library and watching the hustle and bustle around the city. He did this to slow his fast beating heart, but it did nothing to calm him down. After two hours of staying in the town he couldn't help but feel on edge; it was as if he were anticipating something. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The boy muttered an apology when it he realized that it was Haitani with a distraught expression.

"Are you tired? This is taking a while isn't it? Perhaps it would be best for us to get a room in the inn and wait there," he said with concern evident in his voice. Takano made no indication that he heard the older man, but the thought of a nice bed was enticing.

Haitani didn't wait for an answer as he yelled over to Onodera who was in the midst of placing yet another book in the growing pile next to where he sat on the floor. "Onodera, we're calling it a day. Come to the inn when you're done."

Onodera sighed. "Fine," he yelled back.

Takano felt that his feet were moving on their own accord and before he realized it, he was sitting on a warm bed staring out of the window again, but in a different building.

He was broken out of his trance by a voice behind him. "Hey kid, what's up? You're not yourself."

Takano bit down hard on his lower lip. "I don't know why, but I feel uneasy."

"Take deep breaths." Haitani began to breathe audibly to reinforce his advice. "Maybe this new environment is freaking you out." Takano nodded his head and hoped with all his might that Haitani was right.

Once it seemed that Takano wasn't going to burst, Haitani lay down on the bed adjacent to Takano's and put an arm over his face. "This place hasn't change at all since last time I came here." Haitani said underneath a long sigh. Takano turned away from the window and faced the man on the bed.

"I remember the first time I came here was during a school field trip when I was just a boy. Since this is the only city you've visited in Listriv, you may not know that this is the only place where people tame monsters. My class was finishing a unit on biology so we came here to see the creatures we were studying."

Takano looked outside the window again and spotted a young boy petting his pet bird, or at least that was the closest thing that the creature resembled. It was brightly colored and twice the size of the boy, but it had the signature beak and wings to mark it as bird-like.

"None of my classmates were overly fond of me. Apparently they found my jokes offensive." Haitani chuckled. "To get back at me, a group of kids provoked a 'tamed' monster to attack me. At that point in my life I had already gotten some spells under my belt so when I was assaulted, I subdued the monster with my fire magic. But, my teacher was not very pleased with how I tried to defend myself so I was sent home from the field trip early. My teacher explained the situation to my parents and after a sound beating from my father, I was grounded for the rest of the week."

"That sounds terrible." Takano said.

Haitani shrugged. "It wasn't too bad though. After a few days into my confinement, my father came and informed me that I wasn't going to school anymore. He said: 'You like your spells so much, now you can use them to your heart's content. You're joining the capital military.' At first I hated my father for it, but now that I am where I am now, it's not so bad. I get to serve my king personally and help the not so fortunate people in Listriv. Two things which I enjoy."

Against Takano's better judgment, he decided to tread dangerous waters. "Is that why you overpaid that carriage driver?"

Haitani removed his arm from on top of his face and stared at the ceiling in silence for several moments. "Yes, of course. It is my duty to help them." He then returned his arm on top on his face. "Although, I didn't always think that way in my youth. I've hurt so many of those that I was supposed to protect in the past. I want to forget everything that I have done, but my job never grants me that wish since I am constantly reminded of it." He then finally turned his gaze to Takano and gave him a genuine smile. "Which is why I must redeem myself by bringing you to the capital safely. You're going to help us restore prosperity to Listriv."

The teen stared at the man in disbelief. "What does any of this have to do with me?"

"My king says that he has a trick up his sleeve. What that means? I have no idea. But if it will save my country I will do it."

Takano nodded his head at Haitani's statement. He was suddenly reminded of how Onodera described the people of Listriv as people who blindly follow their king; he realized that the brunet's assessment was not far off.

Takano stood up again and walked around the room to relieve some tension that started to grow again at the pit of his stomach. Haitani wiped his face of him grin and regarded Takano with a concerned expression again. "Hey, kid?"

"What?" Takano muttered, although he was only half listening to Haitani.

The foreign man gazed outside the window at the setting sun. "I'm going to rest for some time. But do _not _leave the room."

"Why? Is there some problem?" Takano asked.

"This is your first night in Listriv so I should inform you that it's not safe to be outside after dark."

This heightened Takano's unease. "But, Onodera is outside."

Haitani turned his body away from Takano as he muttered his reply softly. "He's in the library. He'll be fine."

Takano gazed at Haitani's back. He very well knew that Onodera was a strong man and he could take care of himself, but Takano just couldn't get him out of his mind. _"I'll just check on him," _he thought. _"It's not dark yet, after all. I'll just retrieve him and then come back to the room."_

Takano waited for steady rise and fall of Haitani's chest for the signal that he could leave unnoticed. He rose, and then locked the door securely but discretely behind him.

* * *

Onodera was halfway through a sentence of the fortieth text he was reading through when he heard some footsteps approach him from behind. He did a double take behind when he realized who had just come in. "Masamune? Why are you here? I thought you were in the inn."

The teen kneeled down to be at eye level with the brunet. "I was, but I thought you might need some help with that."

Onodera laughed. "Yes, I could. But I'm not so sure how much you could help me."

Takano looked around the room and knew that Onodera was right. He couldn't read a damn thing in the whole building. He then hung his head in defeat.

"Hey, it's alright. How about you gather some books for me. Just look for some really old ones and put it in a pile for me to look through."

Takano nodded and then went to work on sifting through the aged paper on the wooden shelves. He started with the shelf that was at eye level to him. He grabbed a few off, but hesitated before grabbing the next one. He left his hand floating in the air as the pit in his stomach grew yet again. He squinted at the characters on the book and tilted his head sideways to get a better view of it. He almost dropped the books in his arms when the meaning of the specific series of characters jumped out at him.

_"A Traveler's Guide through the Center of the Himbu Mountains" _is what the book was entitled. Takano remembered Haitani talking about mountains that surrounded the two cities so he grabbed the book and brought it to Onodera's eyes as soon as he could.

"What about this book?"

Onodera raised his green eyes and got up on his feet to see the reading material that was falling apart. "Hmm… A guide… through the mountains of… Himbi?"

"Do you mean 'Himbu'?" Takano asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I suppose that would make sense since ancient people called that mountain chain Himbu. What language is this anyway?" Onodera then opened the book and was greeted by a map and he smiled. "This looks very promising! You have a good eye for these books!" Onodera sat on the floor and then studied the map, trying to commit it to memory; all the while he remained oblivious to Takano's literacy of the dead language.

Takano returned the remaining books to the shelves. Once he was finished, he looked around to notice that the librarian locked the door to the library and eradicated all magic that brightened up the room, leaving only the candles to create light in the building.

The black-haired one began to panic slightly. "Hey, why is he locking the door?"

Onodera lifted his head and followed Takano's example of scanning the area. "Because it's about time for the curfew to take place. I'm sorry, but it looks like we are going to have to stay here for the night."

"Why?"

"It's not safe for anyone to be roaming around at night." Onodera pulled Takano by his arm and toward the window next to the front door where the sun had almost set completely leave the city in darkness.

Once the sun had set fully, Takano almost jumped back when he saw humanoid figures of black, darker than the night, conjure from the air. After a few seconds, there were about fifty of them outside. They slowly walked from left to right with their heads hung solemnly. Takano didn't realize how long he had been gawking at them when one of the entities caught sight of him staring from the window. Takano was frozen in fear as the black figure strode briskly towards him; it was so close that the glass window was the only thing that separated the two. It roared at him, baring its ugly teeth. Takano didn't have time to react as Onodera grabbed him and forced him to hide behind the wall underneath the window. The dumb humanoid waited for a few moments for Takano to return, but it soon forgot why it was standing in front of the boring building and walked off towards its unknown destination like the rest of the figures.

Takano looked back into the library and found that the rest of the occupants were staring at their show. They scoffed and then returned to their work.

"What are they?" Takano asked Onodera.

"No one knows for sure. Some say that they are lost souls, some think that they are zombies, while others believe that some dark wizard conjured them. But what we do know is that they've been here for as long as history. Perhaps even longer. We have references that they have been around in all of the written records." Onodera motioned towards the books. "All we know is that we never want to be face to face with them. People have fought them before, but obviously they didn't succeed in wiping them out."

"Oh. So they're all across this country?" Onodera nodded. "How do they know where the borders of Listriv lie? Why aren't they in Heliconis?"

Onodera shrugged. "We have no explanation to these horrid things. I just wanted to give you a visual of why you don't want to be outside at night here."

"Oh, I see."

The duo returned to their previous station and Onodera continued to read the book. Takano looked around for a few minutes and found that the people left in the library were students and the occasional bookworm who was too into their reading to realize that they were locked in. Takano suddenly felt jealous of those readers and wished that he too could read the modern novels that the library had to offer.

Onodera followed his gaze and then smiled sadly to him. "Hey, I'm almost done with this map. How about you grab a book that you want me to read to you?"

Takano's usually stoic face brightened up at the offer and then immediately went to work in finding the perfect bedtime story. In this case, he had to judge the book by its cover.

When he returned with a hefty novel, Onodera had already placed the ancient text aside and left his arm outstretched for Takano to place it in his hand. Once he did so, he sat next to the brunet and waited patiently while Onodera cleared his throat. The brunet translated the first few pages out loud, however, before he could finish the first chapter, Takano had already fallen asleep.

Onodera sighed while staring at the peaceful face of the sleeping youth. He moved Takano on his back for a more comfortable sleeping position so that he wouldn't be achy in the morning, he then bunched up his jacket and placed it under Takano's head to act as a pillow. Onodera nodded at his handy work and then resumed reading the book to himself out of entertainment.

* * *

_"Hmm… hm… hmm hm…," a low voice hummed._

_Takano awoke from his dark slumber as he caught sight of what was singing the song. Once he did he noticed that it was a large dark figure, much like the entities that were outside the window of the library he was at with Onodera. _"Where is Onodera?" _he thought. He gazed around and noticed that he was in a dark forest that was somehow sparse of trees and yet felt dense at the same time. Takano turned his head around to find that his hands were tied with rope behind the trunk of one of the grey trees._

_ Takano brought his gaze back to the dark figure and gasped when he realized that the figure was twirling a knife in its hand. The black humanoid smiled with its deformed yellowing teeth and then walked slowly towards the sixteen-year old while humming the same broken melody again._

_"No. Please don't!" Takano cried as the hummed tune augmented in decibels; it served as a precursor of what was to come._

_The figure placed one hand on Takano's head and pulled the teen's head down, forcing him to look at the knife in the other hand. Much to the teen's dismay, he found that he couldn't look away._

_"Stop! No – don- Ah!" Takano screamed as the knife plunged deep into the teen's belly and then twisted inside of him cruelly. The figure never relented as it pulled the knife upwards to a point that was below the boy's sternum. Blood and guts started to fall out of Takano's body._

_His eyes were overflowing with tears, but he knew that there was more to come. The entity laughed maniacally at its evil doing and then placed his knifed hand into Takano's belly again only to forgo the point object and grabbed Takano's small intestine instead._

_Takano gagged at the sight of it, but then froze when he realized that it wasn't his small intestine at all, but instead it was a bloodied snake that appeared to have little horns on its head. Beneath the blood that was caked onto the snake, Takano could tell that the snake was once a silver color. He gulped as the black one brought the snake up to Takano's face. The reptile flicked a tongue, smelling her prey before sinking her teeth into the teen's cheek and chin. The teen cried in pain and he struggled against his bindings, but to no avail._

_He continued to thrash about until the snake had bitten his face all over. The poison became too much and the boy begun to fall into a dreamless sleep. All the while the entity hummed the same eerie melody as he lost consciousness._

* * *

Takano thrashed his head from side to side as he treaded through the depths of his nightmare. His forehead and neck were slick with sweat and tears started to paint his handsome young face.

This commotion woke Onodera and he looked on at the young man with great concern. He gasped silently as the black-haired boy started to breathe heavily and make erratic motions with his body. The older man took this as a sign to stop observing Takano and finally wake him up. He placed his hand on his shoulder which the boy immediately slapped away.

Onodera stood back for a moment in shock, but then went about pulling him from his troublesome dream with more determination in succeeding. "Masamune, wake up," he said softly. After seeing that this was having no effect, the green-eyed man grabbed his shoulder yet again and shook it slightly.

Finally, Takano opened his eyes and immediately started sobbing. However, once he noticed he wasn't alone he quickly wiped away his tear-stained face and took deep breaths to slow his breathing.

"Hey, are you alright?" Onodera asked with a trepid tone. His face was a perfect representation of how helpless he felt. It was difficult for him to swallow the fact that he could not help him at all.

"I'm fine," Takano croaked out. He got up from the floor he was sleeping on and pushed Onodera to the side as he strode out of the door, unwilling to show Onodera his most vulnerable state. He walked halfway around the perimeter of the library and plopped down on his bottom next too some fallen branches.

There, the teen continued to weep with his hands on top of his face. "_It was just a dream," _he repeated to himself multiple times. However, he thought for sure that this one was real and this was the first time he was ever so shaken by one of his dreams. It left him in such a compromised state, and to have Onodera witness it was adding salt to injury.

Takano turned his gaze upward when he saw a pair of dirty shoes in front of him. He expected the man to be Onodera, however, it turned out to be Haitani instead. The foreign man took hold of Takano's arms and tried to get him to stand, but the teen was not up for it at all. He remained seated with his legs crossed.

"Hey, what happened to you?" Haitani forgot about punishing the boy which was his intention when he left the inn room and instead he wanted to comfort him.

When Takano didn't answer, Haitani sat next to him and sat quietly. That was until Onodera came running from within the library.

"Masamune, are you ok – " Before Onodera could finish asking his question, Haitani cut the man off.

"What did you find in the books?"

Onodera understood from the glare and slow shake of the head that Haitani was giving him that he was trying to change the subject.

"Oh, well there is a mountain pass to the east of here. It will lead us to Callia," Onodera said quietly.

"Great. We will head there then." He then turned to Takano. "Kid, we will leave when you want us to."

Takano rubbed his forearm underneath his nose and sniffed. "I'm ready. Let's go."

Neither of the older men were convinced from the teen's answer, but they followed nonetheless. The three of them rose and made way to the east of town. All the while Haitani and Onodera exchanged glances with each other and had a conversation through their eyes. They knew that the only way to help the boy was to bring their journey to a close, and that was what they intended to do.


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Hey guys! What's up? Okay I have something that I need to tell you all. Actually, in a few days I'm going to India for a few weeks to visit my parents so next update will take a while... Sorry! But because of that I rushed to get this chapter up so I apologize ahead of time if the pacing feels a bit off here.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.**

Chapter 6

Haitani grunted as he tripped over a rock on the dark ground of the tunnel. The man rubbed his aching foot as he glared at the back of Onodera's head. The brunet was leading the other two men into the mountain pass since he supposedly memorized the path through the labyrinth. He was clearly engrossed in his traversal through the underground passageways, but Haitani believed that the man could've warned him about that rock. The floor was dusty and covered in cobwebs so it was hidden perfectly. Haitani continued to follow the man, but he kept his gaze downward for upcoming rocks.

The tallest man shivered slightly. There was an eerie feeling that accompanied the ancient passageway. Never mind that it was dark and dank, but there were many instances where he was sure that he had heard footsteps that were not theirs.

Haitani kept this thought in the back of his mind. He instead concentrated on lighting the area around them with a spell similar to the one used in the library. He used his other hand that was rubbing his foot earlier to trace the wall of the tunnel which was covered in decaying wood. Any indication of human interaction with the place was either destroyed or rotting.

After a few moments of travel in the painfully dark channels, the trio found that they were caught in what seemed like a dead end.

"What? Is that it?" Haitani complained loudly.

Onodera placed a hand on his face. "Hmm, this is strange."

"You dumbass," Haitani muttered. "You better not have led us the wrong way."

The brunet shook his head "No. The map that I read clearly stated that there was a passageway here." He motioned to the left half of the small circular room.

Haitani raised an eyebrow. "And you're sure about that?" When Onodera nodded, Haitani inspected the room further. He walked until he was right next to the wall and felt up the dirt barricade. "There could have been some type of earthquake that collapsed whatever passage remained here. Perhaps if I blasted it…" The mage trailed off, thinking silently to himself.

Takano nodded at that reasoning and placed his gaze on the brunet who was looking at the ground and pacing about as if he were looking for something. Onodera stopped in his stride, bent down, and picked up a large rock which he briefly juggled in his arms to test the weight.

Takano barely had time to react when Onodera walked slowly toward the tallest man, who had his back toward him, and bashed him hard in the head with the blunt object.

Haitani fell to the ground unconscious, and Onodera let the rock fall out of his hands. Takano felt his heart beating hard in his chest as he grabbed Onodera by his shoulders and spun him around. "Hey! What the hell are you doing?"

Takano wanted to read Onodera's expression to find the answer to his sudden violent outburst, but was at loss when the room became dark due to the termination of the spell Haitani was casting.

"Masamune, please forgive me for this." Onodera said softly. Takano jumped when he felt a cold hand being placed over his eyes and a bright light flashed into them, rendering him in the same state as Haitani minus the pain.

He fell down into a dreamless sleep with a thud to the ground.

* * *

Takano open his eyes groggily as he grasped the sheets under his body tightly. He was slightly confused at first, but then his memories flooded back to the forefront of his mind. Enraged, Takano rose from the bed he was sleeping on, and his confusion grew yet again when he found that he was in a posh room.

The bed he was laying on was large and featured very soft pillows and comforters with floral prints. There was a table next to the door which had books, picture frames, and a large mirror placed on top of it. The velvet curtains were pulled back by yellow cords showcasing a window. From what Takano could see, it was still bright out, but he couldn't see anything else beyond the trees outside.

Takano broke out of his reverie when the door opened with a screech, and he jumped to his feet when he was confronted by a relieved looking Onodera. "Oh, I'm glad you're awake now."

The teen blinked his eyes twice in bewilderment. "That's the first thing you say to me? What the hell was that back in the mountain pass? And where the hell are we?" he yelled.

The brunet tapped a finger on his lips. "Yes, that will take a while to explain."

Takano clicked his tongue in irritation. "Well, you better start fucking explaining."

"Watch your tongue, young man." Onodera said sternly. Takano sighed and laughed slightly at how ridiculous it was for him to worry about vulgar language now. "I recommend that you look out the window first."

Takano reluctantly spun on one leg and walked to the glass wall. The immediate visual was the trees right outside and the sidewalk. Beyond that was a very large house that faced the building that Takano was in now. The teen squinted his eyes to look even beyond the house and found a familiar sight. In an array were the same broken houses and beaten sidewalks that Takano had seen two days before. He spun around and met Onodera's knowing gaze.

"We're in Stanotis?" Onodera nodded slowly while closing his eyes. "But why?" Takano asked in a small voice.

"Actually, believe it or not, this is my house. We're in my room to be precise."

Takano gave the older one a flabbergasted expression. "It is? Well then why didn't we just stay here when we rested in this city?"

The twenty-six-year old stood next to the window and took in the outside view as well. "To be honest, I wanted to hide this place from Haitani."

"Huh?"

Without further ado, Onodera sauntered to his table and grabbed a picture frame on the table. He then handed it to Takano for him to inspect. The picture depicted a boy and a girl. The boy seemed to be about five or six while the girl looked to be in her early teens. The boy was obviously Onodera, with his mop of cinnamon brown hair and broad smile, it was hard not to tell. Takano looked at the girl but could not pinpoint who she was, however, she did seem vaguely familiar. He squinted at the picture. The girl had shoulder length black hair and brown eyes.

Takano nearly dropped the picture when he realized that the girl in the frame was his mother. He was kicking himself for not realizing it sooner, but of course after years of separation it would be difficult to spot that type of thing.

The teen looked at the older man and stuttered, "W-Wha –?"

Onodera laughed slightly at how the teen spoke. "Yeah, your mother was my next door neighbor way back when, and as a result, she became my best friend. There was a bit of an age gap, but we got along just fine. She was surprisingly into reading like me and we bonded over that." Onodera looked at Takano's face again. "From your question, I'm guessing you didn't know this?" The teen shook his head slowly while keeping his shocked expression. "Sit down." Onodera guided the other male to the bed.

Even though Onodera told him this, it was hard for him to wrap his mind around. His mother and Onodera were on opposite sides of a person spectrum in his mind and somehow they were friends. He suddenly thought back to when they first met Haitani in Viburm and remembered how he accused his mom for giving him up in the care of a stranger, but now he realized just how wrong this assumption was.

The bed sank as Takano and Onodera sat next to each other. "Your mom and I were friends for a while when we were kids, but as we got older she started to change. She started seeing a lot of guys at the same time and she began to treat me like she didn't know me."

"So, she was a slut?" Takano said bluntly.

Onodera thought about this for a moment. "For lack of a better term, yes. But you mustn't call your mother that."

"But you just agreed with me," Takano retorted.

Onodera shook his head. "Oh, well I'm allowed to say it. Anyway, she eventually left the city with one of the guys she was dating. I have no idea where she went, she didn't even bother to say goodbye."

"Don't feel bummed about that. It would've been heartless, believe me." Takano said sadly, remembering how the same lady abandoned him void of any emotion.

"Perhaps, but I guess it wouldn't really be a goodbye though. A few months after I settled in Viburm, she visited me with your father and –," Onodera blurted out without thinking. He stopped his sentence in its tracks, but the damage was done.

"He's not my father," Takano said coldly.

Onodera regarded him with large green eyes, realizing how he royally fucked up his talk. "Right."

The two sat for a couple of minutes in silence save for their light breathing.

"I was actually kind of relieved when she found me though. It was like she was looking for me too." Onodera's face softened when he said this. "She talked a lot about you, and she asked me to take care of you for a while which I agreed to obviously."

Takano shook his head. "She only did that so she could get me out of her hair."

"That's not true! She cares a lot about you!" Onodera said defensively.

"Why don't you see it, Onodera? She used your fond memories of her to take advantage of you. She dropped me off in your hands just she wouldn't be burdened by me anymore."

"But – "

"You said it yourself didn't you? She changed. She's manipulative and she doesn't care about me, nor you," the teen spat out these words quickly.

Onodera sighed at Takano's outburst. He knew that this was a sensitive subject for him and he wanted to postpone all this explaining. However, he knew he couldn't get out of the hole he had recently dug himself into so he reached into his jacket, pulled out a folded piece of paper, and handed it to Takano.

The younger one looked at the paper suspiciously, given the conversation that enticed this action. Onodera egged him on with his expressive eyes. Takano sighed and he tentatively unfolded the paper. "She mailed that to me some time back. I received it that day we left Viburm. Right before you were going to leave with Haitani." This information peaked the younger male's interests and he read the contents of the paper.

_Dear Ritsu,_

_I'm sorry to inform you that I must once again ask a favor from you. I foolishly divulged the information of Masamune's real father to my husband, and he had relayed this to the Listrivian royalty as a result. I'm not sure how they took the news, but I am aware that they have sent a soldier to retrieve him. What worries me the most is what they intend to do with Masamune when he is brought to Callia. I sincerely hope that this letter reaches you well before that man does._

_Please do everything in your power to protect Masamune._

Takano folded up the paper and handed it back to Onodera. He was clearly not moved by what the letter said.

"After I read this, I frantically looked for you. I remember that you were acting weird that day so I hoped that you were not kidnapped by them that day. Thankfully, I found you before you left. I planned on taking you back to this exact place when Haitani was not paying attention, but he always kept a close eye on me so I never got the chance to," the older man explained.

Takano balled his hands in to fists as his anger erupted. "You were planning this all along?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Huh?"

"I thought that when we left Viburm it was the first time that you were letting me choose what I thought was right for myself. But now I realize that you were never giving me a choice," the teen said this while shaking like a leaf.

Onodera scooted closer to the young man on the bed. "That's because I know what's right for you. That place is dangerous."

Takano threw the glass picture frame of Onodera and his mom on the floor where it shattered. "How do you know? Just because my mother told you so? You're just a pawn in her games!" Takano yelled.

Onodera got down on his hands and knees to inspect the damage done. He gasped slightly at the state of the glass frame; he picked up the pieces and cradled them in his hands where the sharp edges began to pierce his skin and draw blood.

Takano slowed his breathing and narrowed his eyes at Onodera. "But I won't be one in yours," he said under his breath as he went for the door to the room. Takano left the room and made his way down the carpeted staircase to the front door.

"Masamune, where are you going?" Onodera asked hysterically at the top of the stairs.

"Fuck off," Takano hissed before walking out the Onodera estate. He walked all around the clean sidewalks of the upper class houses, but couldn't seem to find a way out. In that time of wandering around, Onodera finally caught up to him.

"You can't leave, Masamune."

"Like hell I can!" Takano yelled again.

"No," Onodera said sternly. This tone caught the teen's attention as he finally took the time to look at the brunet's face. He was taken aback by the serious expression that greeted him. "You _can't _leave. This place is locked off from the rest of the city. Remember when I said 'Not even a rat can get in'? A rat couldn't get out either. My house still resides here so I know where and how to exit."

"What? You're trapping me here? So I'm to be your prisoner?" Takano asked incredulously.

"If you want to think of it that way, be my guest. You will stay until they cease their search for you or when the Listriv monarchy falls."

Takano stared at the man dumbfounded as he walked away. The teen hung his head as he realized that this was not going to end the way that he wanted. He had no choices left. He couldn't leave this place until Onodera let him out. Perhaps the best course of action was to convince the brunet that he could be trusted outside of the upper class quarters of the city. If that were to happen, he could leave discretely.

Takano sighed. He realized that now he was at the man's mercy. He walked back to the Onodera Manor or, as he was referring it to now, prison.

* * *

Rain pattered on the window of the beautiful house that had been housing Takano for three days now. He raised his gaze from the book he was reading and looked dejectedly at the glass painted with drops of water. The teen had resorted to reading to calm his nerves as well as cure him from his boredom but without much success. As soon as he was done with one paragraph, he would forget what he just read. He placed the book down and rubbed his face with both of his hands.

Takano glanced at the clock on the wall and calculated that the brunet would be back in another two hours. Even this early into his imprisonment, Takano had begun to notice a tedious pattern with their new lifestyle. Every morning, Onodera would wake up early and leave to hunt for that day's food. He would return just as Takano was waking up, and the two would not share a sentence with each other at all for the rest of the day. Takano would attempt to sleep early to minimize his contact with the other male, but sleep was something that didn't come easy. Takano thought to follow the young man when he went out, but he never seemed to be awake at that specific time; Onodera always seemed to be one step ahead of him and knew just when the boy was sleeping.

He grunted out of annoyance as he walked out of the Onodera estate and strode on the sidewalk, much like how he did in the middle class sidewalks a few days back.

However, he was taken aback when he smelled something burning. He couldn't quite place what it was until he looked at the stone structure that guarded the parameter of the upper class residential area. There was a bright orange circle on the structure that Takano thought for sure was not there before.

Takano had little time to hide as the wall blasted in and numerous stones flew into the surrounding houses. Takano ducked down and miraculously none of the stones hit him. His attention was drawn back to the broken wall that had a large hole in the center and a man who was walking through it.

"Ha! 'No one can get in' he said. I guess when he said no one, he was excluding me!" Haitani sang in his strong accent and he brushed off some rubble that fell on his shoulders from the blast he had created.

Takano peeked out from under his arms and found what looked like Haitani. He was unsure since the man looked absolutely terrible. His hair was matted and dirty, his clothes were covered in dust, there were bags under his eyes, and there was dried blood that trailed from the back of his head to his shoulders.

The boy gasped slightly when Haitani caught sight of him. "Well, well. Just the kid I wanted to see." Haitani put his hands on his hips and looked around. "Where's Onodera?"

Takano stayed silent and gulped as he gazed at the tired man.

"Don't know? What a shame. I was looking forward to wringing out his scrawny neck. Oh well, I'll get even with him later, but first…" Haitani grabbed Takano by his collar and pulled him to a standing position. He then reached into his jacket pocket and took out a tiny rock-like object. "Good thing I put that tracking device on you or finding you would've been a lot harder. Now, let's get back to Listriv."

Haitani released Takano's collar only to grab his arm right after. He dragged him out of the city onto the road where he made his way to the outside world.

* * *

Onodera returned to Stanotis two hours later with a freshly killed goat over his shoulder. As he neared his house, he was curious when he saw random pieces of rubble on the ground. He looked around to spot the source or the culprit of the destruction and found that the nearby wall seemed to have been blown up. From the singed backs of the rocks, he could tell that it must've been set on fire and then blown in. Onodera's heart dropped at the implications of these clues. He dropped the dead animal on the floor and he ran up to his house. He didn't spare a moment to begin looking for a certain black-haired teen.

"Masamune!" he yelled, filling the empty walls with noise that it had be void of for years. Onodera ran around the house once over and bit his bottom lip in frustration when he didn't find the boy. He knew what this all meant. From the broken wall, he knew that Haitani must've kidnapped him. Onodera wanted to punch himself for wasting time in his house when the answer should've been clear to him earlier.

He left his house and went through the hole in the wall to see if he could find any footsteps. He was disappointed at first when he found that Haitani was smart enough to cover their tracks, but regardless, it was obvious where their destination was.

Onodera squinted his eyes against the sun that was beating down on him as he gazed at the horizon. Determination filled him as he made his way to the border. The fact that was bothering him the most was that he was unsure of how far ahead the two got from him. He didn't know when they left and it could've given them a high lead. He was unsure if he could make it there in time, but he soon realized that he didn't care. Come hell and high water, he would find Takano and protect him.

With that thought, Onodera ran without a break until he reached the border of Heliconis. It was nighttime, and he hadn't seen even a glimpse of the other two which was to be expected.

The brunet crossed through customs and continued to jog toward the destination. He gasped in pain when his pants caught onto a branch. He shook it off of the hook and raised his foot to continue his way, however, he hesitated when he saw something fall out of his pocket. He ghosted his hand over the fallen object and then picked it up, whatever it was, it must've fallen out of the hole in his pants that ripped open from the branch.

While holding the object upward, he noticed that it was the coin that Takano gave him a while ago in their village. The coin shined even now when Onodera held it up to the three moons that have risen recently in nightfall. He grasped it tightly in his hand and brought it close to his chest. "Please keep him safe," he whispered with the image of Takano's handsome face in the fore front of his mind. He wasn't quite sure who he was praying to exactly, but he couldn't stop himself from doing it.

He clenched his eyes tightly and then placed the coin back into his undamaged pocket. Onodera steeled himself again and allowed the glow of the moons to light his way to where the boy was being taken.


End file.
